By Asha Elmi - Reporter
Djibouti, 13 January 2026 – Firefighters in Djibouti City battled a series of destructive fires on Tuesday that tore through residential neighbourhoods, destroying several homes and properties across districts, as authorities warned that solar energy storage systems may have worsened the damage, according to the Djibouti News Agency.
In the Ambouli quarter, a blaze that erupted early in the evening sent thick columns of black smoke billowing over the capital, triggering panic among residents as flames spread rapidly through the tightly packed shoreline community.
Mahamoud Moussa Mahamoud, Director of Civil Defence Operations, said preliminary investigations indicate that lithium batteries and solar panels installed in one of the affected homes may have intensified the fire, accelerating its spread through neighbouring properties.
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Elsewhere in the city, additional fires broke out in nearby districts, damaging or destroying a total of six homes, according to local authorities. Investigators are still working to determine the exact causes of the blazes.
No deaths or injuries were reported.
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the three fires were linked by a common factor, such as an electrical surge.
