Huge fire breaks out in Mogadishu’s Bakara Market

A fire gutted parts of Mogadishu’s largest market early on Saturday, destroying goods worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, witnesses said.

One person was injured in the blaze, which erupted at the Somali capital’s southern Baraka market in a section called Abdalashideeye where phones and accessories are sold,  according to our correspondent at the scene.

The cause of the fire, which destroyed about 20 shops, was not immediately clear but witnesses said it may have been sparked by faulty wiring or carelessness by food vendors at tea stalls.

“Some are blaming an electricity fault but others are blaming a fire that lit by tea-makers,” said one of the traders at the market.

Mohamed Osman, a trader said the fire spread quickly due to the large number of tightly packed corrugated iron kiosks which it contains.

In the recent years, similar fire destroyed businesses and goods in the market at different times.

Mogadishu’s largest, has become infamous and expanded since the 1991 ousting of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre plunged the Horn of Africa nation into anarchy.

Thousands of Mogadishu’s residents depend on the commercial activities in Bakara market.