CAIRO – A devastating landslide wiped out a village in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, killing at least 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country’s recent history, a rebel group controlling the area said late Monday.

The tragedy happened Sunday in the Tarasin village in Central Darfur’s Marrah Mountains after days of heavy rainfall in late August, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said in a statement.

“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand people. Only one person survived,” the statement read.

The village was “completely leveled to the ground,” the group said, appealing to the U.N. and international aid groups for help to recover the bodies.