Fire burns 250 tents in Darfur IDP camp

April 26, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – A massive fire broke out Wednesday at Al-Salam camp for displaced persons in South Darfur state capital of Nyala, burning more than 250 tents.

The affected camp residents have called for the rapid intervention of the state’s government and national aid organizations to provide them with shelter as they are living in the open.

The state’s commissioner for humanitarian aid, Jamal Yousef, arrived at the incident’s scene and evaluated the damage, promising to urge organizations to stand by the displaced people in their plight, attributing the cause of fire to children playing with fire.

Darfur has been a flashpoint for lawlessness and violence since rebel movements took up arms against the Khartoum government in 2003.

The United Nations estimates as many as 300,000 people have been killed and almost 3 million people have been displaced during the ongoing conflict in the region, however, the Sudanese government put the number of dead at only 10,000.

The UN estimates that 1.4 million people are still living in camps.

(ST)