The UAE sent medical aid and food supplies to Equatorial Guinea, after explosions rocked its main city, Bata. More than 100 people died and 600 were injured in the incident at Nkoa Ntoma military camp on March 7. Residential areas, buildings and service facilities were destroyed. The emergency medical and food assistance was part of the UAE's policy to stand by and help countries in times of need, Wam said. Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, meanwhile, said the accident occurred after farmers allowed a fire to burn out of control, setting off explosives that were badly stored. "The city of Bata has been the victim of an accident caused by the negligence of the unit in charge of storing explosives, dynamite and ammunition at the Nkoa Ntoma military camp," Mr Obiang Nguema said. "These caught fire due to stubble-burning by farmers in their fields which ultimately made these depots explode in succession." Mr Obiang Nguema issued a plea for international aid with the disaster coming at a difficult time because of "the economic crisis caused by falling petrol prices and the Covid-19 pandemic".
