Traders in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, are counting their losses following a huge fire that destroyed parts of the country’s biggest open-air market this morning.
The fire at Bakara market burnt for more than five hours before it was contained.
It broke out at around 04:00 local time, but it was not until daybreak that a combined force of local authorities, residents and some private firms with their own standby fire engines began battling it.
According to residents, the inferno started at a section famous for household goods and quickly spread to other parts.
Although no official estimate was immediately given, it is expected the losses will run into the millions of dollars.
One of the traders told the BBC he lost his clothing shop:
I only managed to salvage very few things, and I am not alone in this loss. It’s coming at a time when the country is dealing with a devastating drought.” There is not sufficient firefighting equipment in the city, which has been affected by more than half a century of war.
Ali Hussein Ibrahim, chairman of Mogadishu’s Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told the BBC that it was difficult to know the cause of the fire.
We have so many challenges in the market. For example people sometimes leave behind charcoal stoves unattended, also the cause could be electric fault which are not regulated, so it’s difficult for now to say what caused the fire, but we are investigating.”
It is not the first time the market has caught fire, and some observers say it may not be the last, given the poor infrastructure.
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