Sudan: Fire destroys 50 homes in Darfur refugee camp, no casualties reported

More than 50 homes were destroyed in a massive fire that swept through a camp for displaced people in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region earlier this week, an aid group reported on Thursday.

The blaze, which occurred on Tuesday in the Mukjar displacement camp in western Darfur, was captured on video by the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur.

The footage shows flames rapidly engulfing makeshift shelters, leaving dozens of families homeless once again.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or fatalities. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but the incident has further worsened the already dire humanitarian conditions for the camp’s residents, who have been displaced by more than a year of conflict.

The fire comes just days after the United Nations humanitarian agency reported that over 300 civilians were killed during two days of intense fighting in the Darfur region.

The escalating violence has devastated communities and fueled one of the world’s fastest-growing displacement crises.

Sudan has been gripped by civil war since April 15, 2023, when power struggles between the country’s military and the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group, erupted into full-scale conflict.

The violence has since spread across the country, with Darfur among the hardest-hit regions due to a history of ethnic and political tensions.

Humanitarian groups have warned that access to aid remains dangerously limited, and incidents like the Mukjar fire only deepen the suffering of Sudan’s displaced population.

“This is yet another tragic reminder of the immense challenges facing displaced people in Darfur,” said a spokesperson for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons. “They have fled violence only to face insecurity, hunger, and now destruction by fire.”

International calls for a ceasefire and peace negotiations have so far failed to halt the bloodshed, as millions of civilians continue to bear the brunt of the war.