Mogadishu (AX) — Former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has held the Federal Government responsible for Monday’s deadly clashes in Baidoa, warning that its campaign to dislodge the former South West administration risks widening the country’s political fractures.
Speaking in Mogadishu on Tuesday, Sharif denounced the violence and urged both sides to show restraint and resume negotiations.
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“The fighting in Baidoa is an unfortunate incident that should be condemned by every person with a conscience,” Sharif said, calling on the federal government and its opponents to resolve the dispute through political means.
Sharif said he had consistently opposed the federal government’s handling of South West state. He recalled objecting to efforts to prolong the mandates of regional leaders, including former South West President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.
However, he also criticized Mogadishu’s decision to remove Laftagareen by force and install an administration supported by the federal government.
Speaking directly to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Sharif appealed for a return to dialogue. He warned that failing to settle the dispute politically could lead Somalia into deeper division and renewed instability.
His remarks came two days after intense clashes broke out in Baidoa between federal government troops and militias loyal to Laftagareen.
At least four civilians died and 98 were injured, according to Dr. Abdikafi Omar Mohamud, head of the emergency department at Bay Regional Hospital. The wounded included 28 women, while an elderly man was struck by a stray bullet, he said.
Dozens of fighters were also killed, but the opposing sides gave conflicting accounts of the toll.
The federal government said its forces killed nearly 30 attackers and detained several others. South West authorities put the number of attackers killed at about 50. The claims could not be independently verified.
The clashes began shortly after 5 a.m. Monday, when two explosions struck near a military base east of Baidoa. Fighting later intensified around a second military position in Bonkay, south of the city, before armed fighters moved into parts of Baidoa and exchanged fire with government troops.
Samira Gaid, a regional security analyst with Balqiis Insights, said fighters loyal to Laftagareen briefly drove federal forces from sections of Baidoa and controlled several positions for roughly six hours before being pushed back.
Gaid said al-Shabab fighters separately attacked two Somali military positions on the city’s outskirts. The simultaneous operations fueled allegations that the militant group and Laftagareen-aligned forces had coordinated their attacks.
The federal government said the assault involved both militias supporting Laftagareen and al-Shabab fighters.
“We have confirmed that they were accompanied by al-Shabab,” South West Internal Security Minister Isak Mohamed Korsaar told reporters Tuesday, adding that government forces had recovered the bodies of al-Shabab fighters and taken others captive.
Laftagareen’s supporters have rejected that description of their forces and insist that the former president remains South West state’s legitimate leader.
The clashes have further stretched Baidoa’s already limited medical capacity. Dr. Abdikafi said Bay Regional Hospital had only about 40 beds available and had set up an emergency tent to accommodate casualties. Health workers were also running short of essential medicines.
Baidoa lies about 245 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Mogadishu. One of Somalia’s largest cities, it is also home to hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict and drought.
The latest violence follows months of political dispute over South West’s leadership and electoral process.
The federal government rejected Laftagareen’s contested indirect re-election in March. Federal forces then seized control of Baidoa on March 30, after which Laftagareen, who had led South West since 2018, announced his resignation.
– With files from the AP
