General Coordination for IDPs: Devastating fire hits Rokero camp in Darfur, leaving dead, injured, and hundreds of families homeless*

*General Coordination for IDPs: Devastating fire hits Rokero camp in Darfur, leaving dead, injured, and hundreds of families homeless*

*South Kordofan News*

The General Coordination for IDP and Refugee Camps in Sudan announced a humanitarian disaster that struck the Rokero IDP camp, following a devastating fire that broke out yesterday, Tuesday, April 15, resulting in fatalities, injuries, and severe material losses.

In a press statement today, the Coordination explained that the fire claimed the lives of two children and a pregnant woman, while 76 people sustained various injuries, including critical cases that were transferred to hospitals for treatment. Materially, the flames consumed hundreds of shelters, personal belongings, and food supplies, leaving hundreds of families out in the open without shelter or food amid humanitarian conditions the statement described as “harsh.”

The Coordination affirmed that the incident reveals the fragility of the displaced persons’ conditions and the absence of safety standards inside the camps, warning of the growing risk of disease outbreaks due to the acute shortage of healthcare and the collapse of infrastructure in the camp.

The Coordination appealed to international organizations and humanitarian agencies, led by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), for urgent intervention to provide shelter, food, medicine, and clean water to those affected. It also called on the international community to stand in solidarity with Darfur’s displaced and to highlight their worsening suffering, urging the relevant authorities to address overcrowding in the camps and establish a comprehensive emergency plan to prevent the recurrence of fire incidents.

The official spokesperson for the Coordination, Adam Rijal, concluded the statement by stressing that “saving the lives of the displaced and preserving their dignity is a collective responsibility, and any failure to act is a stain on humanity.”

For contact: Adam Rijal – Official Spokesperson
Email: rojaladam@gmail.com