SUDAN WATCH: SLM-MM

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Tuesday, September 02, 2025

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.

End

Wednesday, February 07, 2024

Sudan: JEM leader says his forces prepare to fight RSF

Report at Sudan Tribune
Dated Monday, 5 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:

JEM leader says his forces prepare to fight RSF

Gibril Ibrahim greets his supporters after his return to Khartoum on November 15, 2020

February 5, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), strongly criticized the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and disclosed that his forces are preparing to wage war against them in Al-Jazirah state.

Speaking at a rally in Port Sudan, Ibrahim condemned the RSF’s attacks and accused them of pursuing a destructive agenda that threatens the entire nation. He rejected their claims of supporting democracy, characterizing them as a force intent on harming the people.

By attacking the central Sudan state “The RSF’s actions expose their true intentions,” Ibrahim declared. “Their project is not aligned with democracy or any other noble slogan.”

The JEM leader’s statement comes amid general mobilization by the army to retake several states from the paramilitary forces. The army leaders said their campaign would start by Al-Jazirah which the RSF seized in mid-December 2023.

Ibrahim, along with Minni Arko Minawi of the Sudan Liberation Movement, decided to abandon neutrality and join the army in this conflict.

He expressed his belief that the situation in Sudan is unique and has been influenced by international and regional actors. He further characterized the situation as incompatible with the nature of the Sudanese people.

“This situation is unprecedented, orchestrated by regional and global powers,” he asserted. “It represents a perversion of the true character of the Sudanese people,” he said referring to the war crimes and systematic looting practiced by the RSF elements.

Ibrahim went further, declaring the JEM’s commitment to actively opposing the RSF. “We will be at the forefront of liberating Madani,” he vowed, referring to the state capital. “The JEM is preparing for this moment,” he further unveiled.

His words align with reports of mobilization by armed movements in Darfur, including forces led by Minawi and Mustafa Tambour, who reportedly would participate in the under-preparation offensive against the RSF. (ST)

View original: https://sudantribune.com/article282018/

END

Friday, November 17, 2023

Sudan: Darfur rebels JEM & SLM join SAF against RSF

Report from BBC News

By James Copnall & Danai Nesta Kupemba

Dated Friday, 17 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan civil war: Darfur's Jem rebels join army fight against RSF

IMAGE SOURCE, AFP Image caption,

The Sudanese army has lost control of key bases in the last few weeks

Two rebel groups from Sudan's Darfur region say they will fight alongside the army in the country's civil war.

This comes after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) made major gains in Darfur, where it has been accused of ethnic cleansing.

Rebel leader Gibril Ibrahim told BBC Newsday they "want to defend their civilians" from the RSF, which he says has been burying people alive.

He said the decision to join forces with the army was not an easy one.

The leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) said it had taken seven months to come to an agreement.

The relationship between Jem and the Sudanese army is fraught. Mr Ibrahim's brother was killed by the army, who was previously the group's leader.

Jem and the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) took up arms in Darfur in 2003, accusing the government of marginalising the region's black African communities.

The government then mobilised Arab militias against them, leading to what has been described as the 21st Century's first genocide.

These militias have since transformed into the RSF, which has been fighting the army for control of the country since April.

The RSF has taken several key towns in Darfur in recent weeks, including the country's second biggest city, Nyala.

Last week, there were reports they had massacred hundreds of people in the West Darfur capital of El Geneina.

The RSF has denied responsibility for the killings, saying they were part of a "tribal conflict".

A joint statement from Jem and the SLM read: "We have announced ending any neutrality and joining the military operations at all frontlines without hesitation."

Jem and the SLM are not as strong as they used to be, but their entry into the Sudanese civil war is significant.

Both Darfuri rebel leaders signed a peace deal in 2020, and have since been closer to the Sudanese military than would once have seemed possible.

It is possible JEM and SLM will see their ranks swell with new recruits - increasing their importance on the Sudanese political scene.

In joining the fray now - after months of professed neutrality - they seek to defend their support base in Darfur, in particular the Zaghawa ethnic group both men come from.

They will also have concluded that an RSF victory would be disastrous for them, and Darfur.

Mr Ibrahim expressed concern at the RSF's advances, saying he feared Sudan would end up divided.

There are fears it could declare its own government in the impoverished war-torn western region.

The international dimension is significant too.

The Zaghawa are present in Chad as well as Sudan, and dominate Chadian politics. Mr Ibrahim and others have accused Chad of supporting the RSF.

He will be hoping that he can use his connections - including with Chad's leader Gen Mahamat Deby - to cut any ties between Chad and the RSF.