2 killed, in blast at major market in North Kordofan
April 15, 2017 (KHARTOUM/EL OBEID) – Two people were killed and thirteen others injured Saturday when a strange object exploded at a major shoe market in El Obeid, North Kordofan state capital, some 363 kilometres from Khartoum.
A medical source at El Obeid Teaching Hospital told Sudan Tribune that two people were killed in an explosion at the shoe market, saying one of them died on the spot while the other died after he arrived at the hospital to receive treatment.
According to the official news agency SUNA, 6 of the wounded are in critical position while seven have been treated and left the hospital.
It is noteworthy that 6 people were injured Friday after an ammunition warehouse belonging to the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) exploded in El Obeid.
The explosion occurred on Friday night and the fires continued until early hours of Saturday causing panic among residents.
North Kordofan police director al-Hadi Ahmed al-Dihaish said the victims were working at the market when they saw a strange object and tried to carry it causing it to explode.
He added the strange object was most likely a remnant of unexploded ordnance from the NISS ammunition warehouse, stressing the security situation at the incident scene is calm and stable.
In press statements earlier on Saturday, North Kordofan governor Ahmed Haroun pointed that an explosion occurred at an ammunition store belonging to the NISS’s operation unit in the west side of El Obeid.
The official news agency SUNA quoted Haroun as saying the “explosion caused limited damages and panic among the residents”, pointing a team of experts began to survey the whole area to detect any unexploded munitions.
The governor asked the residents to stay away from any strange objects and to notify the concerned bodies immediately, saying the civil defence forces rushed to the explosion scene and extinguished the fire.
Haroun stressed that all NISS elements inside the ammunition warehouse are safe, pointing that 6 people have been injured and they are in stable condition.
He said the incident caused limited damage, underlining the situation is under full control.
For his part, NISS director in North Kordofan Shaker Bakhit stressed that no injuries exist among the operations unit elements, saying the explosion and the fires didn’t go beyond the NISS building.
(ST)