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Country's only fuel refinery hit by fire

    JOHANNESBURG
    A devastating fire at Zambia's only fuel refinery at Indeni, in Ndola, the provincial capital of the copperbelt region has threatened fuel supplies to the country's copper mines and to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Reuters reported on Tuesday. Eric Silwamba the presidential affairs minister said: "The damage is quite extensive. We estimate that the plant will be shut down for between seven and eight months. It will be necessary to import finished products." He added that experts from the Zambian police and the intelligence services had been dispatched to Ndola to investigate the cause of the fire. "We are keeping our minds open. This could be a mere industrial accident, it could be anything but we will wait for the investigation to be complete before making public pronouncements," Silwamba was quoted as saying. Indeni produces an estimated 24,000 barrels a day.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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