Somali federal forces expelled opposition fighters from Baidoa on Monday following intense clashes that resulted in multiple casualties, residents and officials reported. Baidoa, a city hosting hundreds of thousands displaced by ongoing conflict and famine, experienced some of its most severe fighting since March when federal troops recaptured control from forces loyal to former South West state president Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.
The confrontation emerged amid continuing tensions between Somalia’s federal government and regional state authorities. Several states have opposed Mogadishu’s influence over local elections and voiced concerns over constitutional amendments perceived to consolidate power in the executive branch. Laftagareen resigned after his administration severed ties with the federal government earlier this year.
Somalia’s Defense Ministry stated that before dawn on Monday, federal soldiers in Baidoa came under attack by fighters using vehicles loaded with explosives. The ministry said its troops repelled the assault, killing approximately 30 assailants. Video footage circulated on social media showed federal soldiers engaging in the fighting from armored vehicles and residents assisting wounded civilians.
Four residents confirmed that federal forces had regained control of the city, reporting numerous bodies on the streets. Local elder Farah Ibrahim counted at least ten fatalities, including both soldiers and civilians from both sides of the conflict. Meanwhile, Laftagareen’s faction claimed early in the day that its forces had taken the city center, indicating some confusion over control during the clashes.
Baidoa continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis, with one in four children at displacement sites suffering from acute malnutrition, according to a July survey by the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières. The city remains vulnerable amid Somalia’s broader struggle against a two-decade-long insurgency by the Al Shabab militant group. Al Shabab regained swathes of territory last year that had been captured by federal forces in 2022 and 2023.
In parallel developments, Uganda’s Defense Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka affirmed that Ugandan troops would remain in Somalia despite uncertainty surrounding the future of the African Union mission there. Approximately 4,500 Ugandan soldiers are deployed under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUISOM), with an additional 2,000 stationed through a bilateral agreement with Somalia.
The future of AUISOM has been questioned following the United States announcement that it will cease funding the UN Support Office in Somalia, which provides vital logistics support to the mission, by the end of 2026. Kiwanuka indicated that Uganda’s continued military presence would likely operate outside the AUISOM framework but did not provide further details on how the bilateral deployment might evolve.