Fire sweeps through Bakara market

A fierce fire swept through Bakara market, Mogadishu's main market on Monday night, destroying part of the structure and causing much damage, local sources told IRIN.

The fire broke out in the market's household goods section at around 10.00 pm and quickly spread to other areas of the market, Mogadishu businessman Salad Ali said. The cause of the fire is so far unclear. "It seems as if all the city's inhabitants came out last night to put out the fire," Salad added. By Tuesday morning, it had destroyed the clothing and electronics sections, he said.

The situation was exacerbated by the sheer numbers of people who turned out to help, the lack of fire fighting equipment, and difficulty of access. "The water tankers that came to help could not get in, because there are no access roads big enough in the market area," Salad said. It was also very difficult to distinguish "who was there to help and who was there to loot", he added.

Police units dispatched by the Transitional National Government (TNG) together with private security guards were deployed to contain any looting. A number of people were killed or wounded by security forces firing on suspected looters, but "no exact figure is available", Mogadishu Police Chief Abdi Qeybdid told IRIN. He said the conflagration had now been contained, but "the market area is still smouldering".

Qeybdid added that the 600 or so police officers would remain in the market "until the area is completely secured". He said a commission would be set up to determine the cause of the fire.

There is no accurate estimate of losses, but one businessman, Dahir Awale, told IRIN on Tuesday morning that "millions [of dollars] were lost last night". Many small and medium businesses had been wiped out, he added.