Fire in Somali Market Triggers Gun Battle

MOGADISHU, Somalia —  Seven people were killed and at least 30 were wounded in gun battles between guards and looters when a fire swept through the main market in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, residents said Tuesday.

Market guards traded fire with hundreds of militiamen seeking to steal goods after the fire started late Monday.

“The ... noise of the bullets could be heard around the capital; the flames and fumes were visible from all parts of the city,” one resident said.

Chaos reigned in the market area as residents lacking even basic firefighting equipment tried in vain to beat back the flames.

Units of militiamen loyal to Somalia’s transitional government, whose influence extends over only parts of the capital, tried to ward off looters by using pickup trucks mounted with machine guns.

The fire started in a fuel store and spread to sections selling paint, clothes and honey, as well as stalls trading in fake passports and land ownership documents.

Somalia has been in the grip of chaos since the ouster of military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Rival warlords compete for resources and influence. A transitional assembly was set up after a meeting of clan elders in 2000 to try to reconcile the country’s warring factions, but it controls only sections of the capital and other pieces of territory.