Ruins of armory blast at Giada Military Barrack in Juba. (Photo: Michael Daniel).

South Sudan army spokesperson said 8 people were injured in the mid-night fire outbreak that gutted an ammunition store at Giada military barrack in Juba.

Major General Lul Ruai Koang said those injured include a six-month old baby and a pregnant woman, who later had a miscarriage due to explosion.

The other injured are six servicemen.

“At midnight, there was a massive explosion at an Armory depot here in Giada. Very big explosion. A lot of military equipment were damaged,” he told the media following a visit to the scene.

“We have registered eight casualties that got injured. Six servicemen got injured. Two civilians were also wounded. A six-month-old girl was injured and a woman that was pregnant was also injured. And as a result of explosions, she had miscarried.”

General Lul said most the survivors were wounded by flying shrapnel from the exploding ammunitions.

He added that the explosion destroyed missile systems, shells and rounds as it sent deafening blasts that ripped out the roofs and foundations of the store.

According to him, the devastating fire was caused by the rise in temperature as Juba experienced heatwaves on Friday through Saturday.

“As you could see, a lot of shells were damaged, a lot of rounds. Different types of missile systems were destroyed and that were the cause the explosion. the primary suspect in this is hot weather that might have ignited the fire.”

However, the explosion occurred in the early hours of the Sunday morning, when temperature has relatively dropped.

The army spokesperson said the wounded are receiving treatment at the Military Hospital.

“The wounded are receiving treatment at Military Hospital. The six servicemen that were wounded as well as the civilians. The civilians that were wounded will be taken care of by the minister of defense.”

General Ruai raised a concern about the location of the barrack in a densely populated area, reaffirming a call by Defense Minister General Chol Thon in 2023, where he asked state governors to allocate lands for the army outside major towns.

He further called on the civilians living near the barrack in Khor Williang to reconsider living close to the military facility.

“Military area is dangerous because of the nature of our equipment. Our equipment requires to be in a place that is only inhabited by the military, not by civilians.”

“There was an appeal, by the Minister of defense to the governments of the ten states for them to consider giving enough land far away from population settlements, so that we set up their barracks, ammunition depots, fuel depots of residential areas for themselves and their family.”

The army spokesperson said that the army leadership will form a committee to evaluate the losses and damages.