Renewed clashes erupted Thursday between government forces and militias on the outskirts of Somalia’s southwestern city of Baidoa, marked by heavy gunfire and civilian displacement. The fighting is the latest escalation in a dispute between the Somali federal government and former South West state President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen over control of the region.
The Somali Defense Ministry stated that government forces were responding to an attack by fighters aligned with Laftagareen and the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab. Federal forces had previously taken control of Baidoa on March 30, following which Laftagareen, who had governed the state since 2018, resigned.
Fighting ceased in the early afternoon, but official casualty figures and the full extent of the engagement remain unclear. Government troops were observed patrolling the streets, and ambulances were seen transporting the wounded. Residents ventured out to assess damage, with reports of bloodied clothes on pavements.
Dr. Abdikafi Omar Mohamud, head of the emergency department at Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa, reported that his staff treated 24 wounded civilians and one civilian fatality. A Baidoa resident, Abdullahi Haji, described fleeing his home due to heavy gunfire and stray bullets impacting residential areas.
Baidoa, located approximately 245 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu, is a crucial humanitarian center. The city currently shelters over half a million individuals displaced by ongoing conflict and drought. This is not the first outbreak of violence in the area; fighting in and around Baidoa last month resulted in at least four civilian deaths and 98 injuries.