Heavy fighting lasting several hours broke out in the Somali city of Baidoa on Monday after federal government forces clashed with armed groups loyal to former South West State president Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.
Reports from the city said the fighting took place in central Baidoa, with both sides using heavy weapons. Federal forces later said they had driven the opposition fighters out of the city.
How did the fighting begin?
According to local residents and a military source quoted by Reuters, fighters loyal to Laftagareen entered the city from two directions and attacked positions held by federal government forces.
Laftagareen’s forces also claimed to have taken control of parts of central Baidoa. The federal government, however, said its forces had repelled the attack and eventually pushed the armed groups back.
Somalia’s Defence Ministry described the fighting as an attack by groups it referred to as “Khawarij”, a term the government uses for Islamist militants, and said government forces had killed nearly 30 attackers. That figure could not be independently verified.
Casualties
The exact number of people killed or wounded remains unclear.
A local elder who spoke to Reuters said he had seen 10 bodies, including four civilians and six soldiers from the two sides. Other residents of Baidoa also reported seeing bodies and wounded people.
Other reports indicated that civilians were among those injured by gunfire and shelling in the city. The actual death toll may therefore be higher than the number that can currently be independently confirmed.
Political tensions behind the fighting
The fighting in Baidoa comes amid growing tensions between Somalia’s federal government and state authorities.
Laftagareen resigned as president of South West State in March after federal forces took control of Baidoa. The dispute between the two sides has also involved elections, the distribution of political power and constitutional changes being pursued by the federal government.
The latest fighting has raised further concerns about the humanitarian situation in Baidoa, which is home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people. A survey by Médecins Sans Frontières in July found that one in four children living in displacement camps was suffering from severe malnutrition.
What is known so far?
The strongest independent reports indicate that the fighting was between federal forces and armed groups loyal to Laftagareen, rather than simply an attack by al-Shabab as described in the government’s initial account.
Federal forces say they have regained control of the city, while Laftagareen’s side initially claimed to have captured parts of central Baidoa.
Information about casualties and the security situation remains fluid, and figures that have not been independently verified should be treated with caution.
