The area use to be a bustling center of commerce in the Somali capital. But that was before the al-Shabab militants moved into the area. VOA’s Peter Heinlein took these pictures during a tour of the area.
Mogadishu's Bakara Market Lies in Ruins
Soldiers patrol the Bakara market's deserted, rubble-strewn streets (VOA - P. Heinlein)
Bakara market lies in ruins, overlooking the ocean in Mogadishu (VOA - P. Heinlein)
A soldier with cigarette in his mouth shows off spent shell casing found in the rubble (VOA - P. Heinlein)
A solitary soldier surveys the damage (VOA - P. Heinlein)
A former medical business lies in ruins in the Somali capital. (VOA - P. Heinlein)
A building destroyed in the fighting of Somalia's conflict (VOA - P. Heinlein)
Goats walk down street in front of a bullet scarred building in Mogadishu. (VOA - P. Heinlein)
In the Bakara Market area, ruined buildings line the streets. (VOA - P. Heinlein)
Signs of the Bakara Market’s former prosperity alongside the pockmarks of war (VOA - P. Heinlein)