Mogadishu traders were dejectedly sifting through the charred remains of their shops on Thursday after a huge fire destroyed one-third of Bakara market, once the Somali capital’s main business hub.
The vast market area and its intricate network of alleyways were completely disfigured by the fire that ravaged the neighbourhood, already beset by daily violence between security forces and insurgents.
”I have nothing to say because I lost everything in the fire,” said Nurto Jama Ali, weeping as she tried in vain to find an item that might have survived the inferno that started on Tuesday night.
”I’m looking after three orphans and was supporting them with the measly income that I was getting from selling household items in the market,” she explained.
The cause of the fire that swept the neighbourhood which had become the nerve centre of the seaside Somali capital was not clear, but some witnesses and security sources said it may have been ignited by a stray bullet.
A Mogadishu business committee estimated that one-third of the market area was destroyed, including 200 shops and many more smaller stalls that were burnt to the ground.
”What happened last night was a national disaster and many people are now poor and in need of assistance,” Ali Mohamed Siad, chairperson of the capital’s business association, told reporters.
He warned that the impact of the fire would be felt across the country, as Bakara is where Somalis generally shop ahead of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
”It’s the worst possible timing … Ramadan is almost finishing and this is a time when people usually go shopping, but now the fire has wrecked everything,” said Olad Adan Hussein, a Bakara resident.
The Muslim charities that usually handed out dates in the market were already absent this year, as Bakara market had become the most violent spot in the country.
Its densely populated, narrow, mazy streets and low building provided ideal shelter for Islamist-led insurgents fighting the transitional Somali government and its allies from Ethiopia and the African Union.
Sharif Adan had already lost his property to a smaller fire that broke out in Bakara market last year.
”I lost everything for the second year running after another fire devastated this area last year, but this one was much worse and my shop has been reduced to ashes,” said the 42-year-old as he engaged in the futile task of clearing the entrance of what used to be his shop.
Many residents blamed the fire on clashes that erupted between government forces and suspected insurgents around the nearby former Defence Ministry.
Shop owners had already started fleeing the flashpoint market in droves this year and the fire has only cast further doubt on Bakara’s future as the nation’s main trading centre.
”This is a disaster. I’m not sure it’s anybody fault, but this just adds to our woes. We already had a hell of daily violence, as well as soaring inflation,” said Mustafa Aalin, another Bakara trader. ”There is nothing left to do but be patient and wait for Allah’s mercy.” — Sapa-AFP