More than 70 fighters were reportedly killed in heavy fighting in Baidoa as federal and Southwest forces clashed with forces aligned with former Southwest president Laftagareen.
BAIDOA, Somalia (Somali Report) — More than 70 fighters were killed in heavy fighting in Somalia's southwestern city of Baidoa on Monday, the regional administration said, as rival forces battled over control of the strategic city.
The fighting erupted at dawn and involved federal government troops and forces loyal to the Southwest administration, according to a statement issued by the regional authorities late Monday.
The administration said its forces had repelled an attack by Al-Shabaab fighters accompanied by forces loyal to former Southwest State president Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.
It said more than 70 fighters were killed in the clashes, including some foreign nationals, but gave no further details on their identities or nationalities.
The casualty figures and the administration's claim that some of those killed were foreigners could not be independently verified.
Somalia's Defence Ministry also said the attacking forces had suffered heavy losses but did not provide an official death toll.
A spokesman for the Laftagareen-aligned forces, however, gave a different account, saying his forces had attacked positions held by Southwest State troops inside Baidoa.
The competing accounts underscored the deep divisions between the two sides over who initiated Monday's fighting and how the confrontation began.
The clashes are the latest in a series of armed confrontations in Baidoa in recent months, following a political dispute that has increasingly turned into a military struggle over control of the city and the Southwest administration.
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On August 17, heavy fighting broke out in Baidoa after forces supporting Laftagareen entered the city. Federal troops later pushed them back, while the Defence Ministry said nearly 30 attackers had been killed.
Another major confrontation took place on September 3 on the outskirts of Baidoa. The Defence Ministry said at the time that forces supporting Laftagareen had taken part in the attack alongside Al-Shabaab fighters, although the allegation of Al-Shabaab involvement could not be independently verified.
The Bay Regional Hospital treated 71 people wounded in that fighting, including 15 women, while at least one civilian death was confirmed.
The repeated clashes have raised particular concern in Baidoa, the administrative capital of Southwest State and a major humanitarian hub hosting hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict and drought elsewhere in Somalia.
The city has also become a focal point in Somalia's wider political tensions, with the federal government and regional authorities divided over governance, elections and the political future of Southwest State.
Laftagareen, who was removed from office earlier this year, has continued to oppose the federal-backed administration led by parliamentary speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur Madobe.
The confrontation has increasingly drawn armed forces into a dispute that was initially political, raising concerns over further violence in a densely populated city already affected by years of conflict and displacement.
Monday's fighting highlights the persistence of the dispute, with both sides now repeatedly resorting to military force in their struggle for control of Baidoa.
There was no immediate independent assessment of the overall casualties from Monday's clashes.
About the Author
Ahmed Omar is a senior journalist for Somali Report, based in Mogadishu. He has two decades of experience reporting on Somalia for international and local media. He covers politics, security, governance, business, trade, economic developments and regional affairs.
Somali forces say they repel Al-Shabaab attack on Baidoa
