Baidoa clashes kill four civilians as Somalia forces repel militia attack

Militias and government troops fought for hours in Baidoa, leaving civilians dead and scores injured. The clashes exposed how South West's political feud is deepening insecurity and overwhelming fragile health services.

In Short

• Bay Regional Hospital treated 98 injured people, including women and elderly residents
• The hospital erected an emergency tent as only 40 beds remained
• Twin explosions near military bases triggered hours of gunfire across Baidoa

At least four civilians were killed and 98 others were wounded after hours of fierce fighting between government troops and militias in Baidoa, a city in southwestern Somalia, a hospital official said on Tuesday. Somali officials said at least 30 attackers were killed in the clashes, which began early on Monday when militia groups attacked government positions on the outskirts of the city.

The violence put further strain on health services in Baidoa, which is home to more than half a million people displaced by conflict and drought. Calm returned on Tuesday, with security forces patrolling major streets and checking buildings and vehicles damaged in the fighting, while residents emerged cautiously from their homes.

Dr Abdikafi Omar Mohamud, head of the emergencies department at Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa, said at least four civilians were killed and 98 were injured, including 28 women and an elderly man who were hit by stray bullets. He said the hospital had only 40 beds available and had put up an emergency tent to cope with the influx of casualties. Medical workers were also facing shortages of essential medicines, he said.

The fighting began shortly after 5 am on Monday with two explosions near a military base east of Baidoa. Heavy fighting broke out minutes later around another base in Bonkay, south of the city, before armed men entered Baidoa and exchanged fire with government troops.

Samira Gaid, a regional security analyst at Balqiis Insights, said fighters loyal to former South West state President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen pushed the new administration's troops out of parts of Baidoa for about six hours before they were driven from the city. In separate attacks, fighters from the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab struck two Somali military positions on Baidoa's outskirts, she said. The timing of the assaults led to allegations that the extremist group had coordinated with Laftagareen's forces.

Somalia's federal government said the attackers included Laftagareen-aligned militias and al-Shabab fighters. It said its forces killed nearly 30 attackers and captured several others. South West state authorities gave a higher figure, saying about 50 attackers were killed. Neither figure could be independently verified, and authorities did not explain the difference. South West Internal Security Minister Isak Mohamed Korsaar said on Tuesday that government troops had recovered the bodies of al-Shabab fighters and captured others alive. "The militias that attacked us were not alone," Korsaar told reporters. "We have confirmed that they were accompanied by al-Shabab."

The fighting came after months of tension over South West's leadership and electoral process. The federal government rejected Laftagareen's disputed indirect re-election in March. Federal troops took control of Baidoa on March 30, after which Laftagareen, who had governed South West since 2018, announced his resignation. Gaid said the clashes showed how political disputes can create openings for extremist groups. "When elite disputes are settled militarily, they create the conditions that the terrorist group exploits," she said. "It is Somali civilians who pay for it." The latest fighting left civilian casualties, disrupted a city already under pressure, and exposed the wider tensions behind the conflict.

With PTI Inputs

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