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Tensions in Somalia have escalated as troops entered the key city of Baidoa on Monday, following intense clashes with forces loyal to the region’s president, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, whose mandate, according to the government in Mogadishu, expired four years ago.
The fighting erupted just six kilometres (3.7 miles) outside Baidoa, a city of several hundred thousand people, with local forces retreating under pressure.
“We have now entered the town from the side of the animal market, and very soon, we are planning to clear the rest of the city of the deposed regime loyalists,” said Hassan Mohamed, a commander of the Somali National Army.
“Their remnants are still in some parts of the town, but we will force them to retreat or surrender,” he added, emphasising the military’s readiness to secure Baidoa.
A few hours before the entry, Ugaas Hassan, a spokesman for the South West State, vowed that local authorities would repel any federal advances.
“Those who have invaded the people of the South West State will never succeed. They will be defeated,” Hassan declared.
The dispute centres around Laftagareen’s extension of his presidency beyond the mandated term, which, according to the Somali government, expired in 2022. Furthermore, Laftagareen’s opposition to recent constitutional reforms, including a term extension for the Somali president and a shift to direct voting for MPs and senators, has exacerbated the political standoff.
In response to the unrest, Mogadishu reportedly sent reinforcements of between 600 and 800 soldiers, supported by hundreds of local militiamen, to secure Baidoa. As of now, Laftagareen’s fate and whereabouts remain unknown, intensifying the uncertainty in an already fractured political landscape.
