By Hou Akot Hou
At least five shops were reduced to ashes on Friday after a massive bushfire erupted at approximately 4:00 AM in Panthou Payam, Aweil South County.
According to Victor Garang Geng, the Payam Administrator, the blaze occurred while residents were still asleep. Geng described the incident as a devastating loss for the local business community.
“The fire consumed everything around 4:00 AM. We have not yet identified how it started or who might have set the shops on fire,” Geng lamented. He noted that the destroyed properties included a pharmacy, a restaurant, and several stores containing sacks of sorghum.
The fire has left several entrepreneurs and farmers in financial ruin. Mary Aguak, a restaurant owner, said she has been left with nothing.
“I lost everything, including my cooking utensils. I have no capital left to start over,” Aguak stated.
John Kuol, a local farmer who used the shops to store his harvest, also counted his losses. “Everything is gone sacks of sorghum, groundnuts, and even some cash I had kept there,” he said.
This incident is part of a worrying trend across Northern Bahr El Ghazal state. Last week, a mysterious fire in Warpac village, Aweil North County, killed 85 goats inside a byre.
Deng Malual, a neighbour who witnessed the aftermath, said the owner was away at the market in Ariath Payam when the fire broke out. Out of 90 goats, only five were rescued.
“The act is mysterious. The husband was at the market and his wife and children were asleep when the hut caught fire,” Malual narrated. He warned residents to remain vigilant against potential arsonists, adding, “Some people are malicious enough to set a hut on fire and disappear.”
Similar reports have emerged from Malualkon Town in Aweil East County, where local pubs were recently targeted. These recurring incidents have sparked fear among residents and traders as the dry season approaches.
The combination of high winds and dry vegetation makes the region a “tinderbox.” Firefighters are urging the public to exercise extreme caution, particularly in homesteads where children might be left unattended near open flames.
For rural communities that rely on their harvests to survive, these fires represent more than just a loss of property they represent a descent into poverty. Despite frequent appeals for help, many victims say they are left to recover on their own without government or humanitarian aid.