An elderly South Sudanese man reportedly died after a huge fire broke out at Takamul refugee camp on the outskirts of Khartoum, Sudan on Tuesday evening.
An official of Khartoum’s Refugee Affairs Commission, Al-Sadiq Suleiman told Radio Tamazuj that the fire engulfed the refugee settlement and led to the man’s death and the destruction of homes and property.
Suleiman said more than 200 refugees were affected by the fire, whose cause is yet to be identified.
According to him, the police were able to put out the fire and are working with humanitarian organizations to provide basic services to those affected.
“We held a meeting with the local authorities and arrangements are underway to provide urgent assistance, but we are waiting for the local authorities to decide whether the camp will be moved to a different location,” he said.
For his part, a refugee at the camp, Daniel Giuliano, told Radio Tamazuj that the fire started from one of the houses in the camp and quickly spread.
He claimed the old man died of suffocation as he was asleep when the fire broke out.