Seven people were killed and more than 30 others were injured in a big fire broke out Monday night in the main business center in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
The fire, which broke out in Bakara market at about 9:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) Monday, has continued until Tuesday morning with all efforts underway in distinguishing the fire.
Spokesman for Mogadishu's police forces Mohamed Yussuf Omar Maddaleh said thousands of uniformed police forces and several hundred uniformed military personnel had been deployed as the situation in the market seemed to be getting out of hand.
Some armed bandits had taken advantage of the chaos to break into shops in the market, Maddaleh said, adding that his forces had apprehended a number of them.
There is no real estimate of the extent of damage and loss of property. But, Abdi Ahmed Dhuhulow, a businessman in the market, said about millions of dollars of property was destroyed just as in the first fire broke out in the market in 1995.
"It is a national disaster," said Abdurahman Dinari, minister of commerce in the transitional national government.
Many people attribute the severe damage to the lack of a proper government in Somalia since the downfall of the late regime 12 years ago.
(People's Daily April 30, 2002)
