Six die in North Darfur camp inferno

Six people died in a huge fire that hit the Shoba camp for the displaced in Korma in North Darfur on Friday.

More than 1,000 homes burned to ashes, a camp resident told Radio Dabanga. “The people could not contain the flames with water and sand because of the strong winds.”

He said that six displaced burned to death. “19 people with burns were taken to the El Fasher Teaching Hospital.

On Sunday, officials estimated the number of people who lost their homes because of the fire at 1,001 families (about 4,385 individuals).

The camp resident appealed to relief organisations, the North Darfur government, and the joint UN-AU peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (Unamid) “to immediately and urgently mobilise relief for the hundreds of affected families now living in the open”.

He said that the reason for the fire was unknown so far. “The displaced do not rule out arson. They fear the authorities are behind the fire, to dismantle the camp and force the camp residents to return to their place of origin, regardless of the insecurity.”

Shoba camp suffered from a fire two weeks before, on Tuesday 30 April. An 8-year-old boy was killed and 300 homes with all their contents were lost. A camp sheikh at the time reported that about 100 families were living out in the open.