Local traders in South Sudan’s Yei River State were left stranded after a huge fire destroyed their shops with goods of unknown value at Sobe Market in the wee hours of Sunday.
Sunday James, a local trader who owns a small restaurant at the market told Radio Tamazuj that the market was completely burnt to ashes and she and other traders could not salvage anything.
She said no one was injured in the fire.
“I have been working here since 2013 and I have lost everything including my utensils in the fire. I lost my husband and I have been feeding my children out of my small business. I am very confused and frustrated because I have lost everything in this incident,” she decried.
She further appealed to the state government to intervene and support the affected traders restart their businesses.
Another businessman who sells clothes in the market speaking on condition of anonymity revealed that he had lost clothes worth 153,000 South Sudanese Pounds.
He urged the government to work with private investors to rebuild a permanent market to minimize losses in similar accidents.
Yei River State Police Commissioner Yoasa Lujang said no one had been arrested since the incident but investigations were ongoing.
“We suspected that there might be some people who left the fire on their cooking stoves and it could be the cause of the fire outbreak but we are investigating,” he added.
Lujang revealed that the police and fire brigade units in the state are working together to conduct public awareness on fire prevention mechanisms through the local radio stations in the area.