ERBIL — The Erbil Governor’s Office has announced that the restoration of Erbil’s historical and cultural Qaysari Market is progressing rapidly, with hopes to complete the process in the near future.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the governor’s office revealed that 5.3 billion dinars from Erbil province’s budget have been allocated for the restoration of the historical Qaysari Market.

“Every effort is being made to repair the market as soon as possible so that it can be reopened to citizens, and traders can resume their businesses,” the statement added.

On the night of May 5, a fire broke out in part of the Qaysari Market, located in central Erbil. The city’s Civil Defense and Emergency Teams responded immediately, but due to the large size of the fire and challenges in accessing the area, it took several hours to bring the fire under control.

Following the incident, Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw stated that out of more than 4,000 shops, 227 shops and seven small warehouses were burned and damaged.

“There were no casualties, but unfortunately, 132 civil defense officers, security forces, police, traders, and citizens were injured, some of them due to smoke inhalation,” he said.

Last month, Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Miqdad Miri stated in a joint press conference with Hemn Mirani, Director General of the Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry, that a network associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and two members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) 70th unit were behind all the fires that have broken out in markets across the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk in recent years.