Children burned, farms destroyed in Sudan fires

Several fires that broke out in North Darfur, South Darfur, Kassala and Northern State in Sudan have caused death, injury and destruction.

In southern El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, a fire broke out in El Salam district. The fire in the houses caused the death of a five-year-old girl. The cause for the fire has not yet been identified.

In South Darfur, a fire broke out in a number of houses and caused severe burns to two children. A total of 35 homes were destroyed. The cause for the fire has not yet been identified.

In Kassala state in eastern Sudan, a huge fire devoured nine hatcheries planted with groundnut and cotton crops in the Agricultural Project of New Halfa. The director of the Agricultural Project, Mamoun Abdallah said that the fire has destroyed about 40 percent of all the production.

In Sudan’s Northern State, a fire at El Jereif Bahri in Nouri heavily damaged or destroyed a large number of palm trees.

Strong winds can cause flames – for example from cooking fires – to spread quickly quick through the dry grass and rooves. In many areas, a persistent shortage of fire-fighting equipment may exacerbate the damage.