Vendors await rebuilding decision two months after Sulaymaniyah market fire

SULAYMANIYAH — Nearly two months after a fire destroyed a large section of the Dara Sootawaka Market in Sulaymaniyah, most vendors have not returned to work and are still waiting for permission to rebuild their shops.

The April 5 blaze gutted 116 shops and four fast food carts, leaving scores of traders without income. Since then, many have remained idle, allowed limited access to their sites but unable to resume business. Some say their shops have effectively become parking lots.

“Today I visited the municipality. I was told that a decision about rebuilding the shops will be made on Wednesday, and the reconstruction will start with a new plan and design,” said Suhaib Othman, a vendor at the market. He and others are hoping to begin rebuilding next week.

On April 14, regional officials distributed compensation to affected vendors. Deputy regional government representative Atta Mohammed told 964media at the time that “all shop owners who suffered losses have received compensation,” with the total amount exceeding 1 billion dinars (approximately $704,225). Compensation was issued based on municipal assessments, and the government also provided 100 tons of cement and all necessary sandwich panels for reconstruction.

Still, several vendors said the payouts fell short of covering their losses. “The losses I suffered were greater, but I only received one million dinars,” said Qadir Ibrahim, or about $704. Another vendor, Soran Jameela, said he incurred more than eight million dinars (around $5,634) in damages and received only two million in compensation. He did not express dissatisfaction with the process, but said many vendors remain under pressure as they wait for reconstruction to begin.