Somali federal troops pushed opposition fighters out of Baidoa, one of the country’s largest cities, on Monday, following hours of intense fighting that left a significant number of people dead, according to residents who spoke to Reuters.
Baidoa, home to hundreds of thousands displaced by conflict and hunger elsewhere in Somalia, endured hours of combat between federal forces and fighters loyal to Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, the former president of South West state. Residents described the city-centre battle as the most intense since March, when federal forces took control of Baidoa after Laftagareen’s administration announced it was cutting ties with Mogadishu — a move that led to his resignation.
The clashes reflect mounting pressure on Somalia’s federal government, which is already battling a two-decade insurgency by al Shabaab militants and working to prevent famine, while facing growing armed pushback from regional state authorities. Several states have rejected the federal government’s involvement in state-level elections and opposed constitutional amendments they argue would centralize power under the executive.
Somalia’s defence ministry said its troops in Baidoa were attacked before dawn by fighters using explosive-laden vehicles, and that federal forces repelled the assault, killing roughly 30 attackers. Four residents confirmed that federal troops had driven opposition fighters out of the city and said they had seen bodies in the streets. Local elder Farah Ibrahim told Reuters he counted ten dead, including four civilians and six fighters from both sides.
Laftagareen’s camp, which had claimed early Monday on Facebook that its forces had seized the city centre, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The humanitarian toll in Baidoa remains severe, a July survey by Médecins Sans Frontières found that one in four children at the city’s displacement sites is severely malnourished.
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