Somali Federal Troops Clash With Militiamen in Baidoa

Somali federal troops have engaged in fierce fighting to push militiamen out of Baidoa, the administrative capital of the South West state. The conflict began when militias loyal to the former Baidoa president entered the city from two sides to challenge two battalions of federal military forces. Captain Osman Abdullahi, a federal military officer, stated that troops are pushing the attackers back, while a spokesperson for former president Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen claimed on Facebook that their troops had captured the city and urged federal forces to surrender. This claim has not been independently verified.

Witnesses report that federal forces used heavy weapons during the clashes. A local shopkeeper, Farah Nur, reported seeing at least two civilians killed in their homes by stray bullets and several others injured. The fighting occurs in a city of over one million people that hosts international peacekeepers, humanitarian agencies, and hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. According to a July survey by Medecins Sans Frontieres, one in four children at displacement sites in Baidoa are severely malnourished, raising concerns that the violence could worsen the humanitarian crisis. Federal troops have maintained control of the city since March, an event that led to the resignation of leader Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.