A fire at the SSPDF First Division's ammunition stores in Renk set off a series of explosions that wounded civilians and soldiers. The division commander says preliminary checks found no outside interference, and an investigation committee is examining the cause.
A fire at the ammunition depots of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) First Division in Renk, Upper Nile state, triggered successive explosions on the night of Thursday 29 October, injuring civilians and soldiers, Eye Radio reported.
What the commander said
The division commander, Major General Kulang Mayen, told Eye Radio that the incident began at about 9 p.m. at the division headquarters, known as Jamus, in Renk town. The fire broke out at the armoured unit's ammunition store and spread to the artillery depot, where different types of ammunition exploded. Mayen said preliminary inquiries had found no evidence of external involvement. He suggested that temperatures of up to 43°C that day might have contributed. He said soldiers who were near the depots were being questioned and that an investigation committee had been formed.
Renk Civil Hospital received civilians with shrapnel wounds, and the blasts caused panic among residents near the base, according to Eye Radio. No official casualty total or damage assessment has been published. The Sudanese news site Sudan Independent reported that residents fled into the bush during the explosions.
The commander's heat explanation is so far only preliminary. As South Sudan Press noted, a hot day alone does not establish the cause, and the committee's findings will be needed to determine it.
Questions of liability
Civilians who were injured or whose homes were damaged may be entitled to compensation if investigators find negligence or a failure to observe safety standards, advocate Santio Daniel told Eye Radio. He cited Articles 20 and 41(5) of the 2011 Transitional Constitution. He said the investigation should establish whether ammunition was stored negligently, whether safe distances were kept and whether fire prevention was adequate.
Context: This is not the first such incident at the Renk garrison. In November 2024 a fire in a parked tank at the same First Division command set off explosions, which officials also linked to heat, Radio Tamazuj reported at the time. The county commissioner then said the garrison, once outside the town, was now surrounded by homes, and that county, state and national authorities would work to move it. Renk, near the Sudanese border, hosts large numbers of returnees and refugees who have fled the war in Sudan.
Photo: Residents collect water at a treatment point in a displacement camp in Renk, 2017. USAID, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.