Somalia: AMISOM Helps Quell Blaze In Mogadishu Market

By Staff Writer

MOGADISHU---On Wednesday evening AU troops helped put out a fire that gutted Mogadishu’s HamarWeyne market. The fire was successfully curbed, preventing it from spreading to surrounding residential and business areas.

Responding to calls for assistance from Somali authorities and traders, AMISOM troops sent two fire fighting trucks and personnel to help quell the 6-hour blaze that had started at 19:30 near the fruit section of the market.  

To fortify the TFG police and military efforts, twelve infantry fighting vehicles and fifty soldiers were deployed to secure the premises to stop looters taking advantage of the situation.

Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha, expressed his sympathies to traders who lost their goods during the unfortunate incident.

“Though we are grateful that no lives were lost to the fire, AMISOM is saddened by this setback for the traders in Mogadishu,” he said.

Markets and businesses have reopened in Mogadishu following the expulsion of the al Shabaab terror group from the capital last year by the TFG military with the support of AMISOM.