Tuesday September 9, 2025
Hargeisa (HOL) — Three siblings were killed in a house fire
on Monday afternoon in the Jarmalka neighborhood of Burco, the capital of
Somaliland’s Togdheer region, residents and witnesses said.
The blaze broke out around 1:00 p.m. while the children’s
mother had briefly left the home to charge her phone at a nearby shop. By the
time she returned, the house had been engulfed in flames.
Witnesses told local media that one child was trapped inside
the burning house, while two others were pulled out alive but later died from
their injuries.
“I was sitting here, next to the house, and I smelled the
fire and ran away. There was nothing we could do about it, and the fire
department arrived too late,” one neighbor told an online channel. “The
children burned for about three hours.”
Residents blamed Burco’s fire service for failing to respond
quickly, saying fire brigades are often stationed in only one area of the city
and struggle to reach emergencies on time.
This is not the first such incident in the neighborhood.
Locals say previous fires have also caused damage and casualties, underscoring
concerns about the city’s emergency preparedness.
