Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday expressed condolences to Sudan after a landslide in the country’s Central Darfur state killed more than 1,000 people.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of many lives and the devastation caused by the landslide in the Jebel Marra region of Sudan’s Central Darfur State,” the ministry said in a written statement, offering prayers for the deceased and sympathy to the Sudanese people.

The Sudan Sovereignty Council earlier confirmed hundreds of deaths in the disaster. But the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), which controls the area, said in a statement that more than 1,000 people were killed when heavy rains triggered the Aug. 31 landslide in Tarsin village in the Marra Mountains.

According to the group, only one person survived, while the village's famous citrus groves were completely destroyed.The Sudanese government has pledged to mobilize resources for relief efforts and mourned the victims of the tragedy.

The natural disaster struck amid Sudan’s ongoing war between the army and the RSF, which has killed over 20,000 people and displaced 14 million since April 2023, according to the United Nations and local authorities.Research by U.S. universities places the death toll far higher, estimating around 130,000 deaths.(ILKHA)