MOGADISHU, Somalia — The Prime Minister of Federal Republic of Somalia, Mohamed Hussein Roble has ordered an immediate release $11.7 million from government accounts that was an international grant for Somaliland.
Sunday’s decision come after a massive fire ore through the main market in the city of Hargeisa in Somaliland, destroying hundreds of businesses.
Both Somali government and business companies in Mogadishu announced the donation of $3 million to help those who lost their livelihoods to the inferno.
The cause of the blaze that gutted the sprawling Waheen market – the lifeblood of the city and home to an estimated 2,000 shops and stalls – is not yet known.
The vast market is a crowded warren of shops and makeshift stalls, with no proper streets, only narrow pathways.
Somaliland president Muse Bihi Abdi said during a visit to Waheen that about 28 people, nine of them women, were injured, but so far no loss of life had been reported.
This comes a day after Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo held phone talks with Muse Bihi Abdi, the president of Somaliland to express his sadness over the destruction caused by the fire.
President Farmajo expressed the Federal Government of Somalia’s commitment to assist those who lost their livelihoods to the fire at Waheen market in Hargeisa.
Farmajo also called on Somalis to mobilize and extend a helping hand to their brothers and sisters who lost their livelihoods.
“We stand with the business people who lost properties in the fire with support and prayers, I urge Somalis to mobilize to give support to their brothers,” he said.
