Sudan (MNN) — Sudan calls for international help following Sunday’s massive landslide in western Darfur. Local footage of the disaster zone shows a flattened area between mountain ranges where an entire village used to be.

Days of heavy rain triggered landslides in the Marrah Mountains, reportedly leaving only one survivor. The scale of the debris and the disaster’s remote location limit information. Civil war, raging between rival militaries since 2023, further complicates recovery efforts.

“The area hit by the landslides is also a hub for displaced families fleeing the fighting,” says John, a Gospel worker focused on Sudan.

“They were trying to escape that (fighting) in El Fasher. They went up to this area, and now [there is] a landslide.”

Authorities say between 300 and 1,000 people were killed, but the actual death toll could be higher.

John’s partners fear the worst as attempts to reach their friends go unanswered. “Even though it’s an Islamic area, there are house churches that have been planted over the years,” John says.

“We know there are some Christians among [the affected people.]”

Pray for wisdom and discernment as church planters determine how they will respond to this disaster. John’s organization supports frontline Sudanese church planters throughout the Islamic nation.

“We’re not a relief organization, but because of the network of believers on the ground, getting $200 someplace has a huge effect,” John says. “We’ve done targeted relief in many, many places.”

(Photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide)

Pray that Sudanese Muslims will find truth, comfort, and peace in Jesus Christ.

“I have met so many Muslims that, in their desperation of finding inner peace and hope, had God meet them in a dream. So many Muslims have come to Christ without someone leading them,” John says.

Frustration with Islam leaves many Sudanese open to the Gospel, he adds.

“The whole nation is in trauma, and that trauma cuts to the core,” John says.

“These are non-Arabs, but they’re still Muslims, so they’re trying to deal with the fact that ‘The Koran says we’re brothers, and yet, here’s my brother trying to kill me, take my land, drive me from my land, because I’m not Arab.’”

 

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Franklin Peña Gutierrez/Pexels.