Condolences | September 2, 2025 – Jebel Marra
With deep sorrow and grief, we, at Sudan Rights Watch Network, express our profound condolences to the people of the region and to Sudan as a whole, for the horrific and tragic tragedy that struck the village of Tarsin, west of the Soni area in the Amo district, on Sunday, August 31. A landslide swept away human and material losses in an instant.
It is truly a tragedy beyond all bounds of possibility, embodying the harshest images of collective loss, as death loomed over simple, fragile homes that were unable to withstand the harshness of nature and the policies of the authorities. We, at the network, offer our sincere condolences to the families of the victims, and we pray that they find solace in their patience, and in our solidarity with them some solace and human sharing in this great loss.
However, we at the network believe that grief must go beyond mere lamentation to profound contemplation and outright criticism. The disaster was not born of the rains alone. What happened was the result of a long accumulation of structural neglect, chronic negligence, and even deliberate eviction policies. The landslides revealed the weakness of the soil after it was soaked with water, and the fragility of homes built without solid foundations or building materials capable of withstanding the harsh conditions of nature. They also revealed the absence of rational urban planning and an improvised or systematic housing policy that is not based on sustainable strategies that prioritize human safety above all else. As we mourn the victims, we cannot ignore the fact that the disaster exposes the failure of the state and relevant parties to prepare emergency plans, the lack of political will to invest in infrastructure, and the authorities’ neglect of naturally fragile areas despite long-standing warnings from experts and the local community alike. What happened in Tersin is not only a case of pure negligence; it is also a direct result of the intersection of neglect and institutional incompetence, leaving villages and rural areas to face their fate alone in the face of natural disasters.
In these difficult circumstances, the network issues an urgent appeal to humanitarian organizations, nationally, regionally, and internationally, to provide immediate, urgent, and strategic aid to the families and relatives of the victims of the Tersin tragedy, and to support the villages and neighboring areas that are already suffering and facing enormous living pressures. Practical solidarity, through the provision of the most basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare, is one of the first ways to alleviate this pain and prevent it from turning into a wider humanitarian tragedy. The Sudan Rights Watch Network affirms that protecting lives at this tragic moment cannot be achieved solely through mourning, but rather by establishing a strategic vision for safe and sustainable housing and planning that prioritizes human rights and their right to a dignified life. The blood that has been spilled under the mud must compel us all government officials, civil society, and regional and international organizations to reconsider the foundations of urban justice and the right to safe housing. This must be done to prevent such a painful scene from being repeated in other villages tomorrow, just as a similar incident occurred in the village of Tarba in 2018, leaving hundreds of victims, including dead, wounded, and disabled, among the local population.
The network once again expresses its deepest condolences for the lives lost so suddenly, and wishes to make the tragedy of the people of the region and Sudan as a whole a painful memory that motivates us to work hard for effective, strategic, and sustainable change, not just silent weeping.
Sudan Rights Watch Network
September 2, 2025