Fire consumes 1,500 palm trees in Sudan’s Northern State

More than 1,500 palm trees and at least six water engines have been destroyed in an extensive fire that broke out at Koka near Dongola, capital of Sudan’s Northern State on Monday.

Nubian activist Adham Nasir told Radio Dabanga that the fire, that stretched from the ferry to Karam area, also completely destroyed four houses and partially damaged others.

He explained that the source of the fire is still unknown and pointed to an increase in fires “attributed to unknown persons” during the recent period.

Nasir, who suspects arson, criticised the government for “its reluctance to fight the fire and not provide fire trucks or police to conduct investigations to identify the causes of the fire and its perpetrators”.

There are no reports of human casualties.

In May, a fire that broke out at Artemi Island in Dogo destroyed about 500 palm trees as Dogo has no fire truck.

According to statistics from the Nubian Development Committee, about 250,000 palms have been burned between 2005 and 2016. The government does not publicly keep track of statistics on the number of burned palm trees.