Over 80 residents residing in a riverbed in Windhoek's Freedom Square were left destitute after 33 of their man-made shacks burned to the ground around midnight last night.

The fire left one resident seriously injured and admitted to intensive care at Katutura State Hospital.

Men, women, and children, all unemployed and otherwise homeless, are appealing for assistance.

Some say they have been forced to live here in a riverbed opposite the street from Jacob Marengo Secondary School for over 20 years now.

Two minor children, who are siblings aged 3 and 4, were burned beyond recognition in the early hours of this morning while they were sleeping in their traditional hut at Otjimanangombe village in Ruacana Constituency, Omusati Region.

It is alleged that, at the time of the incident, four children were asleep in the traditional hut, which caught fire and burned to ashes.