Concordis International’s Chief Executive, Peter Marsden, was visiting the market at the time, and said:

“We were in a meeting with people from Sudan and South Sudan, planning the next stage of the peace process in Abyei, when we heard shouting. We ran outside to see a huge fire engulf the room we’d just left. The market’s made of traditional materials – wood, reeds and grass – and it caught hold terrifyingly fast. The heat was extraordinary.

It’s devastating to watch people’s livelihoods literally go up in smoke. People were very upset, trying to rescue what they could, but the fire was too hot.

This market is symbol of peace, and it’s a reason to keep the peace. When something like this happens, tensions and suspicion inevitably run high – it’s now more important than ever to keep the peace and to keep open the channels of communication between north and south.”

Briefing on Concordis International

Concordis is a UK registered peacebuilding charity that enables people affected by armed conflict to find lasting peace. We help women and men address the root causes of the conflicts that divide them, enabling them to build a safer and more prosperous future together.
An independent evaluation by the Stockholm Policy Group of Concordis’ programme in in Abyei, promoting peaceful cross-border trade and movements of livestock, found:

Concordis is a continuously respected, appreciated and important actor for supporting the peaceful management of cross-border conflicts in targeted border areas between South Sudan and Sudan. …Concordis is instrumental in supporting local mechanisms for peaceful cross-border seasonal migration, in the context of ongoing conflict between and within those two countries.

The damage to the Peace Market, the suspicions that it might have been arson and the terrible losses incurred by traders, are likely to evoke some very strong reactions. The Concordis team is redoubling our efforts in the coming days to manage that conflict, to try to prevent violence and to help channel that passion into positive action, rather than destructive reaction.