Somali army clashes with rebel forces for control of key city Baidoa
Somali forces repel rebel fighters in Baidoa after intense fighting involving explosives and dozens of casualties.
Key points
- Laftagareen had led South West State for more than seven years when, in March, he severed ties with Mogadishu over…
- The changes extended Mohamud’s term in office by a year and drastically altered Somalia’s fragile power-sharing arrangement, enshrined in its…
- The move sparked clashes across the nation, including in the capital, against the backdrop of which the Somalian army seized…
- Fighters loyal to him have struck the city repeatedly since, including a failed attempt to retake control of the state…
The clashes erupted before dawn on Monday, when fighters loyal to the state’s former president, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, attacked positions held by federal forces, the Defence Ministry stated.
The ministry added that the assailants employed vehicles laden with explosives but were repelled after federal forces killed 30 attackers,
Somalia’s army has said it has driven opposition fighters out of Baidoa, the largest city in Somalia’s South West State. It accused Laftagareen’s forces of fighting alongside the al-Qaeda-linked armed group al-Shabab.
Earlier, in a Facebook post, Laftagareen’s camp claimed that its forces had captured the city centre.
Residents informed the AFP news agency that the clashes were the fiercest since the Somalian army took control of the city in March. Doctors Without Borders, which runs facilities in Baidoa, told the agency that a number of casualties had reached its hospital and fighting had occurred on two fronts.
Baidoa lies about 245km (150 miles) northwest of the Somali capital Mogadishu and hosts hundreds of thousands of residents displaced by war and climate events.
Laftagareen had led South West State for more than seven years when, in March, he severed ties with Mogadishu over controversial constitutional amendments pushed through by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
The changes extended Mohamud’s term in office by a year and drastically altered Somalia’s fragile power-sharing arrangement, enshrined in its 2012 provisional constitution.
The move sparked clashes across the nation, including in the capital, against the backdrop of which the Somalian army seized Baidoa, leading Laftagareen to resign.
Fighters loyal to him have struck the city repeatedly since, including a failed attempt to retake control of the state in May.
The clashes and instability are contributing to a severe humanitarian crisis in the country, where millions are facing malnutrition and famine.
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