Shops destroyed in Darfur market fire

More than 32 shops were destroyed when a fire broke out at the Grand Market of Nyala, capital of South Darfur on Wednesday evening.

The Chief of Police for South Darfur State, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Osman, said that the cause of the fire was an electric short-circuit. He explained that bad planning impaired the firefighters’ movement, in spite of the closeness of for fire station to the place of the accident. He said that the losses are estimated SDG 10 million ($1.6 million).

The residents of Zurga village of Ghibaish locality in West Kordofan have complained of frequent fires without obvious reasons for more than five months. They report that the fires have destroyed 62 houses, a number of basic school classrooms, and private property.

A citizen told Radio Dabanga that that the villagers have been spending the night outside, despite the winter cold, for the fear of night fires. He pointed out that “the fire victims are still in the open and have received little support from the responsible authorities”. He appealed to the local and state authorities to intervene in support of those affected and to investigate the causes of the frequent fires.