ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil’s governor announced on Sunday that the suspect of the Qaysari Bazaar blaze has been identified and will be made public.
A large fire tore through the bazaar in May, burning 227 shops, and seven storage units and injuring 132 people. The bazaar, which has more than 4,000 shops, is located near the city’s historic citadel and is a popular tourist destination.
“The cause of Qaysari Bazaar going up in flames is known and the investigations are near completion. Many people have been arrested because of this matter and have been interrogated,” Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw told journalists.
“In the very near future and in the coming few days, the reason for the fire and the perpetrator of the crime will be revealed to the public,” Khoshnaw said, noting that one person is the main suspect of the fire, but the motive is still being investigated.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) previously promised to compensate the shopkeepers for the damage they suffered. Renovations of the bazaar began in early June, with two firms assigned to the renovation and many shopkeepers independently starting to rebuild.
“Despite the specified time for the [renovation] project being one year, based on our reevaluations, it will be complete in six months,” said Khoshnaw.
According to Khoshnaw, 5.3 billion Iraqi dinars (more than $3.6 million) have been allocated from the governorate's budget to the project.
Following the incident, the KRG announced that store owners will be exempt from paying certain taxes for 2023 and 2024; they have made an agreement with Cihan Bank to provide interest-free business loans.
This was the second major bazaar fire in Erbil this year. Flames engulfed the popular Langa Bazaar in April, burning down the textile and clothing section and causing millions of dollars in damage.
Fires are a perennial concern in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region where safety standards are often lacking. They are especially frequent in the summertime, with the scorching summer heat increasing the risk of fires.
Aging infrastructure, overcrowding, electrical faults and a lack of basic safety measures are major underlying factors.
