The Bakaaraha Market (Somali: Suuqa Bakaaraha) is an open market in Mogadishu, Somalia. It is the largest in the nation. The name Bakaaraha is derived from the Somali word for grain silo or storage, baqaar.
The market was created in late 1972 during the reign of Mohamed Siad Barre. Proprietors sell daily essentials, including maize, sorghum, beans, peanuts, sesame, wheat and rice, petrol and medicine.[1]
It is famous for illicit activities, such as forged Somali passports processed within minutes, Ethiopian and Kenyan passports, and other forged documents, including birth certificates and university diplomas. This illicit sub-market is known as Cabdalle Shideeye after one of its first proprietors.[citation needed]
History
Battle of Mogadishu
On 3 October 1993, the market was one of the areas where the Battle of Mogadishu was fought. Two of the five U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters, involved in the battle, were downed in the vicinity of the market area which led to a fierce firefight that lasted until the evening of 4 October 1993.[2]
Violence, fires, and counterfeit currency
In 1997, a dispute arose over the control of the collection of taxes in the market. As a result of the confrontation, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired into a fuel tank. (Fuel tanks are above ground in the market, not stored underground.) Several civilians were injured.[3]
In March of 1999, hundreds fled the market after fighting erupted. Fighting continued between Islamic Courts and secular militias through April.[4]
On 26 January 2000, the market was the site of the shooting of Ahmed Kafi Awale, a radio commentator for Hussein Mohamed Aidid's Radio of the Somali People. Three others were killed and seven were injured.[5]
On 5 January 2001, a fire broke out in the market. The vegetable section of the market was destroyed, as was part of the milk section. Islamic Courts Union (ICU) militia forces broke up the fighting.[citation needed]
In February 2001, an influx of counterfeit currency led to the shutting of the market for a time. The Somali shilling collapsed. Traders only accepted U.S. dollars for a time. The cost of arms was affected, and the cost of food and essentials doubled during the crisis.[citation needed]
On 10 April 2004, another fire broke out in the market. According to a report to the UN Security Council:
On the night of 10 April [2004], a serious fire in the main Bakaara market in Mogadishu resulted in at least eight people killed and more than 30 wounded. Armed looters shot indiscriminately into the crowd. The incident caused significant insecurity in the areas surrounding the market.[6]
On 2 October 2007, another fire started in the market, spreading rapidly. The fire reportedly was caused by a fired shell during a brief fight between the re-liberation forces against Ethiopian forces and their allied transitional government forces nearby.[7]
On 15 October 2009, Al-Shabab insurgents shelled the Bakara Market with mortars, killing 20 people and wounding 58 others.[citation needed]
On 1 May 2010, two bombs detonated at a mosque near the market, killing 39 people and wounding 70.[8]
On 14 May 2011 heavy shelling hit the market resulting in at least 14 civilian casualties. Most of the civilians killed were women doing their shopping, and one child was also among those killed.[citation needed]
In November 2012, the head of Bakara’s business community, businessman Ahmed Nure Awdiini, was shot dead outside his office in Mogadishu.[9]
The security checkpoint for the market was controlled for a time by Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, a Mogadishu faction leader who was appointed Minister of National Security by the Transitional Federal Government. The checkpoints for the market were removed in June 2005 as part of the Green Leaf for Democracy (GLED) initiative of a "Global Week against Small Arms."[11]
Related Research Articles
The Battle of Mogadishu, also known as the Black Hawk Down Incident, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. It was fought on 3–4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States—supported by UNOSOM II—against the forces of the Somali National Alliance (SNA) and armed irregulars of south Mogadishu.
After two decades of violence and civil war and after the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia captured Mogadishu and Kismayo, the TFG attempted to disarm the militias of the country in late 2006. According to the UN/World Bank's Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) coordination secretariat, "the total estimated number of militias [militia members] to be demobilized is 53,000." In 2005, they estimated that "there are 11–15,000 militia people controlling Mogadishu ."
The timeline of events in the War in Somalia during 2006 is set out below.
The timeline of events in the War in Somalia during 2007 is set out below.
The Battle of Mogadishu began on 21 March 2007 in the Shirkole area of Mogadishu between Somali Transitional Federal Government forces and allied Ethiopian troops, and Islamist insurgents. The battle usually includes the dates, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades-long Somali Civil War.
The 2009 timeline of events in the Somalia War (2006–2009) during January 2009 is set out below. From the beginning of February the timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present) is set out following the conclusion of the previous phase of the civil war.
The Somali Civil War (2009–present) is the ongoing phase of the Somali Civil War which is concentrated in southern and central Somalia. It began in late January 2009 with the present conflict mainly between the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops and al-Shabaab militants who pledged alliegence to al-Qaeda during 2012.
The Battle of South Mogadishu occurred in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on February 24, 2009.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2009) started in May with an Islamist offensive, when rebels from al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam attacked and captured government bases in the capital of Mogadishu. The fighting soon spread, causing hundreds of casualties, and continued on at various levels of intensity until October. The battle's name usually includes the year, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
Ali Sa'id Sheik Hassan, also referred to as Ali Sa'id Hassan Awale and Ali Said, was the chief of police of Mogadishu and a commander of security forces during the war in Somalia, in which he was killed by sniper fire in June 2009. He had been the Mogadishu chief of the Somali Police Force for roughly two years, prior to being shot by "Islamist forces" in Mogadishu's Hadan district during the Battle of Mogadishu (2009). The BBC reported that the police chief's death would be "a significant setback for the pro-government forces as he had often been on the front line encouraging his colleagues to defend their positions". The New York Times reported Somali analysts stating that "the loss of the police chief, Col. Ali Said, would be a major blow to the transitional government led by Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed." Ali Said had survived an earlier assassination attempts in 2007.
Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a (ASWJ) is a Somalia-based paramilitary group consisting of moderate Sufis opposed to radical Salafism. The group opposes extremist interpretations of Islam, as well as laws banning music and khat. The group seeks to protect religious shrines from demolition.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2010–11) began on 23 August 2010 when al-Shabaab insurgents began attacking government and African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) positions in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab began its offensive after its spokesman said the group was declaring a "massive war" on troops sent by AMISOM, describing its 6,000 peacekeepers as "invaders". In December 2010 the number of AMISOM troops was increased to 8,000 and later to 9,000. The battle's name usually includes the years, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
This is a 2011 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2012 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2015 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2013 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2010 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2016 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
Events in the year 2024 in Somalia.
On 6 February 2024, four bombings inside the Bakaara Market in the Somali capital Mogadishu killed at least ten people and injured over twenty others.
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