Fire in Hargeisa damaged an area of around 99,000 meters.

According to Somaliland's interior minister, MATAAN YUUSUF, the fire in Hargeisa damaged an area of around 99,000 meters. 

Mogadishu, Somalia (AFP) – Residents of Hargeisa, in northern Somalia, were left reeling Sunday when a tremendous inferno burned the central market, destroying the lives of tens of thousands of people.

The mayor of Hargeisa, the city of Somaliland's breakaway territory, estimated that the fire that devoured the Waheen market had cost up to $2 billion in losses.

Officials have issued urgent calls for assistance in rebuilding Hargeisa's open-air market, which formerly housed an estimated 2,000 businesses and stalls.

The fire started late Friday and quickly spread across the market, devouring everything in its path until being brought under control on Saturday.

No one was killed in the accident, which occurred at the opening of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, but officials said it injured 28 people and wrecked hundreds of businesses. The cause has yet to be determined.

"Preliminary information on the damage caused by the fire indicates that property losses could range from $1.5 billion to $2 billion," Hargeisa mayor Abdikarim Mohamed Moge told reporters late Saturday.

"There has never been such a major disaster in the community."

After enabling local residents and businesses to try to recover any property that survived the fire, he said the clean-up operation would begin in earnest on Tuesday.

Somaliland's president, Muse Bihi Abdi, has formed a five-member committee to oversee the rescue operation and efforts to assist individuals whose livelihoods have been damaged by the calamity.

Saleban Yusuf Ali Kore, the information minister, told reporters that the flames had damaged an area of around 99,000 square meters (about 24 acres).

Congestion problems

As the fire spread, images from the scene showed massive flames and clouds of smoke rising into the sky over Hargeisa, with many buildings burned or reduced to charred wrecks, their windows blown out.

The firefighting operation was impeded by insufficient access in the huge market and the difficulties of breaking into businesses sealed up with iron bars, according to Somaliland's fire and rescue chief, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan.

Several countries, including the United Kingdom, which once ruled Somaliland as a protectorate, as well as Ethiopia and Djibouti, have expressed their support and condolences in the wake of the accident.

In 1991, Somaliland declared independence from Somalia, an act that was not recognized by the international world and has left the 4.5 million inhabitants of Somaliland impoverished and isolated.

While Somalia has been ravaged by decades of political conflict, Somaliland has remained a relative beacon of calm.