The security committee of El Radoom locality in South Darfur has decided to relocate one of the state’s largest markets to decrease the risk of fires.

Kafia Kingi market has suffered repeated smaller fires in the past, however, the security committee’s decision came after a huge fire destroyed more than 800 shops in the market and burned 200 adjacent houses in the locality districts.

The locality Commissioner Adam Ishag said that the recurrence of frequent fires in the locality has become a great threat to security and explained that the last fire had caused material losses exceeding SDG 170 million (*$6.03 million).

The market will be moved to a new locality and ‘properly planned to minimise the risk of fires’.

Recently, camps for the displaced in Kalma, Gireida, and El Salam have witnessed similar fires that have destroyed hundreds of houses.

Large fires are reported in Darfur in this time of year, when the wind easily spreads flames – for example from cooking fires – through the dry grass and rooves. A shortage of fire-fighting equipment exacerbates the damage.

* Based on the indicative US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS)