Commercial activity is resumed in Nyala Grand Market amidst heavy police deployment

The South Darfur state authorities have managed to restore commercial activity to Nyala Grand Market and fully secure it after deploying police forces on the main roads.

The deputy head of the Market Revitalization Committee, merchant, Sharoufa Idris Saboun, told (Al-Jamaheer) that, for the first time, merchants left their goods in the warehouses and shops of the Grand Market, without any incidents of assault or theft.

Saboun explained that the Committee has begun to put forth diligent efforts to revitalize and reconstruct the market, in addition, it has been able to gradually resume activity in what he described as an “acceptable” manner.

Commercial activity in the Grand Market of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, has been halted since (November 2023) due to airstrikes launched by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on the market. This forced the merchants to move their goods -and activities- to the city’s peripheral markets.

After the threat of military aircraft in Darfur was neutralized by the defense systems installed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a number of merchants in Nyala Grand Market resumed their commercial activities.

The Vice Chairman of the Revitalization Committee pointed out that there are peripheral markets in the city that are more crowded than the main market, including the Andalusia, Al-Sha’abi, Al-Jebel, El-Geneina, and Livestock markets.

The mayors of Nyala Municipality and Nyala North Locality called for favoring the main market (Nyala Grand Market) over peripheral markets in an effort to restore the full commercial activity to the former market.

Saboun described commercial activity in these markets as unacceptable due to security risks, the lack of organization, and the spread of negative phenomena.

Following the fall of its Military Division in (November 2023), the Sudanese Air Force has launched more than (100) aerial attacks on the city of Nyala, leaving thousands of civilians dead and wounded. The aforementioned airstrikes were carried out before the threat was neutralized and several military aircraft were downed in Darfur.