Hundreds of traders in the Bakaara Market, the country’s largest, staged a massive protest today after they said the government had ordered the market to be closed and evacuated, with plans to hand over the land to wealthy businessmen with ties to the government.
The traders blocked the roads leading to the market, expressing their anger over the decision.
They openly accused the Somali government of trying to hand over their land to private traders.
During the protest, the traders called on the Somali President, asking him to intervene immediately.
One of the women traders in the market said she could not accept a private group buying the market from the government, vowing to die on their land.
Similarly, the young traders in the market said they would defend themselves against anyone who tried to evict them from their business premises.
Another mother who owns a small business in the market said she has been trading there for 28 years and finds it difficult to accept that her livelihood will be taken away.
In general, the traders once again called on the President to intervene urgently in this matter, stressing that the market is independent of political issues and that they will not abandon their businesses.
