Humanitarian Agencies Arrive in “Tersen” to Determine Landslide Death Toll in Jebel Marra

The General Coordination of internal displaced persons (IDPs) and Refugee Camps in Darfur stated that it is awaiting a joint assessment by humanitarian agencies to determine the number of casualties from the landslide in Tersen village, Jebel Marra, Darfur, following significant discrepancies in reported death tolls.

The civil authority in areas controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid Nour in Jebel Marra announced the death of nearly 1,000 people in the landslide in Tersen last Sunday, while the Sudanese Ministry of Health said, in a statement yesterday, that the number of deaths did not exceed two.

Adam Rajal, spokesperson for the General Coordination of IDP and Refugee Camps in Darfur, told Sudan Tribune that an emergency team from Save the Children reached Tersen yesterday after a strenuous eight-hour journey on donkeys across rough terrain.

He explained that they are awaiting the joint assessment to be issued by the agencies from Tersen to determine the exact number of victims.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that teams comprising about 12 local and international NGOs, along with UN agencies, headed to Tersen to verify the number of affected people, assess urgent needs, and provide assistance.

Adam Rajal expressed dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Health’s report, which mentioned only two deaths from the landslide, emphasizing that the ministry is not present on the ground and therefore its information cannot be relied upon.

He confirmed that the area is experiencing heavy rains, which have caused flash floods, with the latest victims being three children in the Spinga IDP camp in Tira district, north of Jebel Marra, whose bodies were later recovered.

He warned that the area remains at jeopardy of future landslides due to its volcanic nature.

Meanwhile, Mujib Al-Rahman Al-Zubair, official of the civil authority in Sudan Liberation Movement-controlled areas, confirmed the recovery of around 370 bodies. Photos from Tersen show mourning gatherings for the victims without displaying any corpses.