Hargeisa fire: Inferno devastates market in Somaliland's capital

Residents of the capital of Somaliland, Hargeisa, have woken to scenes of devastation after fire tore through the main market overnight.

The blaze destroyed hundreds of businesses in the densely crowded market area as firefighters struggled to gain access to the flames.

But it appears that nobody was killed though 28 people were injured.

The blaze is a setback for the city of 1.2 million people, capital of the unrecognised Republic of Somaliland.

Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia just over 30 years ago, has escaped much of the chaos and violence that plague its neighbour.

The fire started around 20:00 (17:00 GMT) on Friday and was not brought under control until Saturday morning, Efe news agency reports. The cause was not immediately known.

"The town has never witnessed such a massive calamity," the city's mayor Abdikarim Ahmed Moge told reporters.

"This place was the economic centre of Hargeisa and even though the firefighters did their best to contain the fire, the market is destroyed."

Responding to news of the disaster in the former British protectorate, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted that the UK was "working with the authorities and international partners to seek to provide support".

Market trader Bashi Ali told AFP news agency he had possessed several businesses in the market and they had all been burnt to ash. "All we can learn from this disaster is to plan the market well," he said.