Thousands left homeless in Puntland inferno

At least 2,000 people were left homeless when a fire swept through the Buul Eelaay camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland on Sunday, sources said.

"We have reports that about 350 households were affected by the fire. At least 10 people injured in the fire were hospitalised," Amanda Dilorenzo, information officer for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Somalia office, said.

"It [the fire] was likely made worse by the highly flammable material with which the camp’s houses were built, as well as poor planning of the camp and strong winds," she added.

Hassan Isse, a local journalist who witnessed the fire, said: "All those who stayed at the camp lost their belongings. They are worried of what to eat and where to sleep."

The blaze, he added, started at about 09.00 GMT on Sunday. Due to the strong summer winds, it engulfed the entire camp within 20 minutes.

Residents at the camp, on the outskirts of Bossaso, lost their monthly food rations donated by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in the fire. Most of the inhabitants were recently returned refugees and people displaced by the protracted civil conflict in parts of Somalia.

Policemen and residents battled the fire for hours, using water tankers and other locally available equipment. The shortage of fire extinguishers slowed down their efforts.

Medical sources in Bossaso Hospital said there were no confirmed deaths, but dozens had been brought in with superficial burns.

Dilorenzo said aid had reached the camp’s residents by Monday. The UN Children’s Fund, the UN refugee agency, (UNHCR), and local authorities were providing non-food items such as blankets, jerry cans and mosquito nets to between 500 and 700 households, while WFP was supplying food.

It was unclear what triggered the blaze, but according to some locals, the fire started in the camp’s food kiosks.

The governor of Puntland's eastern region, Yusuf Mohamed Waays, and the newly elected mayor of Bossaso, Khadar Abdi Haaji, visited the camp on Monday to assess the damage. They appealed for urgent assistance.

A fire in Buul Eelaay in 2004 also caused serious destruction to residents’ homes and property.