Hundreds killed in Sudan landslide, UN says. BBC Verify Live is looking at checks on video and images

EARLY this morning, BBC Verify Live's editor, Rob Corp, writes: “Our Africa specialist is looking at checks on video and images following a landslide in the Darfur region of western Sudan which local officials say has killed at least 1,000 people.”

You can read more about that story here (early version copied here below).

Note, BBC Verify uses open-source intelligence, satellite imagery, fact-checking and data analysis to help report complex stories. 

This feed is where they post their work throughout the day.

Get in touch with BBC Verify by following this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/send/u179565631

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Report from BBC News

By James Chater

BBC News

Published Tuesday 2 September 2025, 02:59 BST

Updated around 09:00 BST - full copy:

Hundreds killed in Sudan landslide, UN says

IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS

Image caption, More than 800,000 have fled the western Darfur region, where the landslide occurred, since conflict erupted in 2023

A landslide has killed at least 370 people in the remote Marra Mountains in western Sudan, a UN official has told the BBC.

Antoine Gérard, the UN's deputy humanitarian co-ordinator for Sudan, said that it was hard to assess the scale of the incident or the exact death toll as the area was very hard to reach.

Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, the armed group in control of the affected area, had earlier said that at least 1,000 people had died.

Days of heavy rain triggered the landslide on Sunday, which left just one survivor and "levelled" much of the village of Tarasin, the group said in a statement.

The movement has appealed for humanitarian assistance from the UN and other regional and international organisations.

Getting aid quickly to the area would be difficult, Mr Gérard said.

"We do not have helicopters, everything goes in vehicles on very bumpy roads. It takes time and it is the rainy season - sometimes we have to wait hours, maybe a day or two to cross a valley... bringing in trucks with commodities will be a challenge."

Many residents from North Darfur state had sought refuge in the Marra Mountains region, after war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) forced them from their homes.

Darfur's army-aligned governor, Minni Minnawi, called the landslide a "humanitarian tragedy".

"We appeal to international humanitarian organisations to urgently intervene and provide support and assistance at this critical moment, for the tragedy is greater than what our people can bear alone," he said in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency.

Pictures show two gullies on the side of a mountain which converge at a lower level where the village of Tarasin was.

The civil war that broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the RSF has plunged the country into famine and has led to accusations of genocide in the western Darfur region.

Estimates for the death toll from the civil war vary significantly, but a US official last year estimated up to 150,000 people had been killed since hostilities began in 2023. About 12 million have fled their homes.

Factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, which controls the area where the landslide occurred, have pledged to fight alongside the Sudanese military against the RSF.

Many Darfuris believe the RSF and allied militias have waged a war aimed at transforming the ethnically mixed region into an Arab-ruled domain.

Additional reporting by Anne Soy.

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdj2jygzzk9o

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SNIPPETS from Bing news search "Sudan" 12:01 BST:

AP NEWS 3hr

A landslide in Sudan’s Darfur wipes out a village, killing more than 1,000 people

A landslide has wiped out a village in Sudan's Darfur region, killing an estimated 1,000 people. A rebel group controlling ...

CBS NEWS 4h

Landslide levels village in Sudan's Darfur region, kills roughly 1,000 but one person survived, rebel group controlling area says

A landslide wiped out a village in Sudan 's Darfur region, killing an estimated 1,000 people, a rebel group controlling the ...

USA TODAY 9h

Over 1,000 killed in landslide in western Sudan village

At least 1,000 were killed in a landslide that destroyed a village in the Marra Mountains area of western Sudan, leaving only ...

FOX NEWS 2h

Landslide kills over 1,000 people and levels entire village in Sudan's Central Darfur

Devastating landslide completely levels Tarasin Village in Sudan's Central Darfur, with rebel group reporting over 1,000 deaths and only one survivor.

BBC NEWS 8h

At least 1,000 killed in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

The landslide on Sunday happened after heavy rain and "levelled" a remote mountainous village, the group says.

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Sudan's former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok says recent military gains won't end the country's conflict

HAMDOK, a 69-year-old former economist who now leads a civilian coalition from exile, called the idea that the conflict was drawing down “total nonsense.” The idea that reconstruction can begin in Khartoum while fighting rages elsewhere is “absolutely ridiculous,” he said.

“Any attempt at creating a government in Sudan today is fake. It is irrelevant,” he said, arguing that lasting peace can't be secured without addressing the root causes of the war. Read more.

From The Associated Press (AP)

By SAM METZ

North Africa reporter for AP

Dated 05 June 2025; 2:06 AM BST - full copy:

Former Prime Minister Hamdok says the military’s recent gains won’t end Sudan’s civil war

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks during a session of the summit to support Sudan, at the Grand Palais Ephemere in Paris on May 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool, File)

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — Sudan’s former prime minister on Wednesday dismissed the military’s moves to form a new government as “fake,” saying its recent victories in recapturing the capital Khartoum and other territory will not end the country’s two-year civil war.

In a rare interview with The Associated Press, Abdalla Hamdok said no military victory, in Khartoum or elsewhere, could end the war that has killed tens of thousands and driven millions from their homes.

“Whether Khartoum is captured or not captured, it’s irrelevant,” Hamdok said on the sidelines of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s governance conference in Morocco. “There is no military solution to this. No side will be able to have outright victory.”

Hamdok became Sudan’s first civilian prime minister after decades of military rule in 2019, trying to lead a democratic transition. He resigned in January 2022 after a turbulent stretch in which he was ousted in a coup and briefly reinstated amid international pressure.

The following year, warring generals plunged the country into civil war. Sudan today bears the grim distinction of being home to some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has left at least 24,000 dead, though many believe the true toll is far worse.

Both sides stand accused of war crimes.

The RSF, with roots in Darfur’s notorious Janjaweed militia, has been accused of carrying out genocide. The army is accused of unleashing chemical weapons and targeting civilians where they live.

The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who have crossed into neighboring countries. Famine is setting in and cholera is sweeping through.

The military recaptured the Khartoum area from the RSF in March, as well as some surrounding territory. Army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan has framed the advances as a major turning point in the conflict.

Last month, he appointed a new prime minister, Kamil al-Taib Idris, for the first time since the war began, tasked with forming a new government. But the fighting has continued. The RSF has regrouped in its stronghold in Darfur and made advances elsewhere, including in Kordofan.

Hamdok, a 69-year-old former economist who now leads a civilian coalition from exile, called the idea that the conflict was drawing down “total nonsense.” The idea that reconstruction can begin in Khartoum while fighting rages elsewhere is “absolutely ridiculous,” he said.

“Any attempt at creating a government in Sudan today is fake. It is irrelevant,” he said, arguing that lasting peace can’t be secured without addressing the root causes of the war.

Hamdok said a ceasefire and a credible process to restore democratic, civilian rule would need to confront Sudan’s deep inequalities, including uneven development, issues among different identity groups and questions about the role of religion in government.

“Trusting the soldiers to bring democracy is a false pretense,” he added.

Though rooted in longstanding divisions, the war has been supercharged by foreign powers accused of arming both sides.

Pro-democracy groups, including Hamdok’s Somoud coalition, have condemned atrocities committed by both the army and the RSF. Hamdok, however, has avoided accusing the United Arab Emirates of supplying weapons to the RSF, even amid international scrutiny and an investigation from a U.N. panel of experts.

On Wednesday, he rebuffed AP questions about weapons coming from the UAE. He said those who singled out the Gulf state while ignoring others accused of backing the army, including Iran, were “pushing a narrative.”

“What we would like to see is anybody who is supplying arms to any side to stop,” he said.

RELATED STORIES

Sudan's military accepts UN ceasefire proposal to let aid in

Fighting intensifies in Sudan's Kordofan region

Driven to starvation, Sudanese people eat weeds and plants 

to survive as war rages

View original:

https://apnews.com/article/sudan-hamdok-war-interview-prime-minister-military-b06511897115d4b539799128b8d0cf00

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Drone attacks in Sudan's Port Sudan and Kassala. MSF hospital attack in South Sudan was deliberate says UN

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: A year or so ago, I saw credible reports saying Janjaweed RSF militia plan to take Khartoum, Darfur, Port Sudan. I documented them at Sudan Watch but don't have time to find them now. 

The following reports regarding a series of attacks over past three days on Sudan's Port Sudan/ International Airport and Kassala Airport, plus a market and MSF hospital in South Sudan's Jonglei, succeeded in creating a new round of explosive headlines and complex humanitarian needs and aid.

In my view, they are not a coincidence. A nagging feeling I am unable to shake off tells me the US is pulling strings behind the scenes. Hundreds of ruthless US civilians are financially invested, particularly in South Sudan.

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VIDEO REPORT from Channel 4 News

By Lindsey Hilsum International Editor

Dated Tuesday, 06 May 2025 - full copy:

PORT SUDAN ROCKED BY MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS

Sudan war latest: who was behind Port Sudan attacks?

Multiple explosions have rocked the Sudanese city of Port Sudan for a third day as paramilitary rebels target government forces.

The Red Sea city has become a refuge for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the civil war.

The two-year conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has already created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The attacks on the port have led to power cuts and represent a new front in the fighting as it had not been targeted before this month.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/cQHh0HqRmVA

Channel 4 is a British public broadcast service

Source: https://www.channel4.com/news/sudan-war-latest-who-was-behind-port-sudan-attacks

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Related

Report from BBC

Dated Tuesday, 06 May 2025 - excerpt:

Sudan paramilitary attacks leave key city without power

Drone strikes have hit a major power station in the Sudanese city of Port Sudan causing a "complete power outage", the country's electricity provider said. Flights have been cancelled after drones hit the international airport and a hotel near the current presidential palace, reports say.

Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx20x8g2nego

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Report from ReliefWeb

By UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Dated Tuesday, 06 May 2025 - full copy:

Port Sudan drone attacks: A call to protect civilian infrastructure - Statement by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami

(Port Sudan, 6 May 2025) I am shocked and deeply concerned by intensifying drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in Port Sudan, the main humanitarian hub within Sudan. In the early morning hours of 6 May 2025, drone attacks reportedly the Port Sudan International Airport and other infrastructure – including a fuel storage facility and a power transformer – in Port Sudan.

Such attacks will deepen humanitarian suffering and needs, as well as exacerbate the already severe access and logistical challenges that humanitarian actors face in the delivery of urgently needed aid to the rest of the country.

The Port Sudan International Airport is a lifeline for humanitarian operations, serving as the primary entry point for aid personnel, medical supplies, and other life-saving relief into Sudan. Moreover, the availability of fuel in Port Sudan is critical to the dispatch of humanitarian supplies to areas across Sudan in dire need of assistance. Damage to critical infrastructure could also disrupt supply chains and increase the price of basic goods, further exacerbating human suffering in what is already the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

These latest strikes follow a series of drone attacks over the past days on civilian infrastructure in Port Sudan and Kassala, cities that have largely represented safe locations for civilians who have been displaced multiple times throughout this devastating conflict. Recent attacks on the Kassala Airport in eastern Sudan has forced displaced individuals – who had sought refuge in a gathering site near the airport – to move once again.

Since January 2025, attacks on infrastructure such as power stations, water sub-stations, and oil refineries across the country have caused widespread electricity outages and disrupted access to essential rights and services, including safe drinking water for civilians, healthcare and food supplies.

These attacks are serious violations of international humanitarian law, which prohibits the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure. They reflect a consistent failure to comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.

Every measure must be taken to spare civilians and civilian objects.

Once again, I call on all those involved in this conflict to cease hostilities.

View original: https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/port-sudan-drone-attacks-call-protect-civilian-infrastructure-statement-united-nations-resident-and-humanitarian-coordinator-sudan-clementine-nkweta-salami

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Report from IOM-DTM

Dated Tuesday, 06 May 2025 - excerpt:

DTM Sudan Flash Alert: Port Sudan (Port Sudan town), Red Sea
Between 5 and 6 May 2025, DTM field teams reported that approximately 120 households were displaced from Transit and Al Shahinat neighbourhoods in Port Sudan town of Port Sudan locality, Red Sea due to increased insecurity following air drone attacks. Households were displaced primarily to locations within Port Sudan locality, Red Sea. 

View original: https://mailchi.mp/iom/dtm-sudan-flash-alert-port-sudan-port-sudan-town-red-sea-update-001

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Report from BBC News

By Will Ross, Africa regional editor

and Natasha Booty, BBC News - excerpt:

Seven killed in South Sudan hospital and market bombing, charity says

MSF shared a picture which showed part of the hospital on fire

At least seven people have been killed after a hospital and market were bombed in South Sudan, a medical charity has said, as fears grow of a return to civil war.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said helicopter gunships dropped a bomb on the pharmacy of the hospital it runs in Old Fangak, Jonglei state, burning it down, before firing on the town for 30 minutes. A drone then bombed a local market, MSF said.

The hospital is the only one in Fangak county, which has a population of more than 110,000 people, MSF said, and all its medical supplies were destroyed.

The charity called the attack, which left 20 people injured, a "clear violation of international humanitarian law".

MSF spokesman Mamman Mustapha told the BBC's Newshour programme the charity was still trying to establish the facts, but local witnesses had said the aircraft were "government forces helicopters".

"The hospital is clearly marked as 'hospital' with our logo," he said. "We have shared also our coordinates for all the warring parties in the area so the hospital should be known to both parties as a hospital."

Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2536m9r2eo

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Report by Reuters

 

Tuesday, 06 May 2025

Attack on MSF hospital in South Sudan was deliberate, U.N rights commission says

Full story: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/attack-on-msf-hospital-in-south-sudan-was-deliberate-un-rights-commission-says/ar-AA1EfC3q

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