Traders in Jebel Market have been awoken by wild flames on Tuesday morning as fire swallowed more than 10 shops in the heart of the second busiest market in South Sudan’s Capital, Juba.
The cause of the fire isn’t known according to the traders found at the scene.
Nobody has reportedly been injured in the fire with the exception of goods and millions of South Sudanese pounds caught in fire.
“We woke at 5am in response to fire that was gutting the whole place. I felt at some point that war had broken out in the market”, said John Lemon, one of the traders found at the scene,”The fire flames were rumbling as explosions occured”, he added.
“Good enough nobody’s been hurt in the fire save with a large chunk of goods and money lost in the fire”, he added.
Until 7:30 am local time, authorities from South Sudan Fire Brigade are still fighting the fire as it tries to swallow up the rest of the shops.
Nobody has been arrested in connection with the arson, although intense investigations are underway as police gets to the root cause of the problem.
Jebel Market, located in Jebel residential area is the second largest market in Juba after Konyokonyo.
The market suffered the heaviest of losses in the 2016 crises as soldiers and locals in the area looted the market in the aftermath of the war.
