mogadishu\'s bakara market clean-up upsets some
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP)—
Like many other residents in Mogadishu, Ali Osman, who sells goods in the Bakara market, is eager to end 20 years of illegal and violent acts that have plagued the capital.
For several years, Islamist insurgents have taken control of much of Mogadishu.
Fighting often breaks out in the city.
Mortar shells flew overhead and hit houses and market stalls.
Gunmen who want to replenish their weapons supply can go to the Bakara market, where Kalashnikov rifles, machine guns and grenades are sold from rickety wooden racks on both sides of narrow dusty streets.
Insurgents were driven out of town last year and the government is working to normalize the most chaotic city.
But now that the government is cleaning up the \"illegal\" stalls in the crowded Bakara market, Ottoman and other traders feel that things have gone too far.
The last day, Ottoman watched the bulldozer sweep through his kiosk in horror.
The nearby merchants scrambled to move their goods and stalls before the bulldozers pointed the shovel at them.
\"My only source of income is to be crushed,\" Ottoman said as he watched his grocery business be destroyed, which sells items such as rice and canned juices.
\"They didn\'t give us a place to do business.
They don\'t care about the poor.
\"Cigarette butts, water bottles and cartons were scattered on the street after the bulldozers removed the kiosks Pavilion.
The workers loaded the pieces of metal and wood into the truck.
The effort was aimed at opening up space in crowded markets, but traders said the government was dismantling businesses without giving them enough time to move.
Halimo Nur, a vegetable trader, watched soldiers and laborers destroy her booth.
\"They make our lives miserable and miserable,\" she said . \".
The city\'s deputy police commander insisted that a large number of warnings had been issued to the owner of kiosk Pavilion, who was selling goods on the street.
\"We gave them 20 days to move their business out of the street.
They rarely obey our orders . \"
\"Before we eliminate illegal business premises, we will continue to remove illegal kiosks street by street. \"The clean-
Up immediately produced an effect.
In the past, the streets were crowded, goods were everywhere in the alleys, and there was not enough space for people to pass through.
Now the road is clear and people can walk easily.
Government officials believe that clearing the market sidewalks will also make it easier for police and soldiers to hunt down the remaining militants who tried to escape after the attack.
Bakara, the capital\'s largest market, has been an active business center since the fall of the previous government in 1991.
The militants used it as a cover to launch attacks from 2007. 2011.
Recently, when pushing soil in another market of about 5 kilometers (3 miles)
Officials say they have found guns, bombs and other explosive materials for sale from Bakara.
The overall revival of the city includes new sidewalks, new gardens, potholes on roads and installation of solar energy
Electric street lights.
In the normalization efforts, people\'s lives were disturbed in addition to market traders.
City officials recently expelled hundreds of people.
Buildings they live illegally.
Mogadishu fell into violence in 1991, when the tribe-
The warlords overthrew the dictator Mohammed Siad Barre and attacked each other.
African Union and Somali army
On last August, al-Shabab militants left Mogadishu to allow a revival in the seaside capital.