Three Children Killed in House Fire in Burco, Somaliland 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. Read more