BAIDOA, Somalia — Heavy gunfire and mortar blasts rocked Baidoa for a second straight day on Thursday as Southwest State security forces clashed with armed militias in the city, an escalation regional authorities allege is being fueled by the federal government in Mogadishu.
Residents and local officials said the fighting has centered around the residence of Hassan Eelay, Somalia’s federal minister for Livestock, Forestry and Range, in a densely populated neighborhood of the interim state capital.
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Southwest security officials described the offensive as a “clearing operation” targeting armed groups they accused of trying to destabilize Baidoa. A senior regional security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operation, said forces would continue until the armed elements are neutralized and order restored.
The regional administration has accused the federal government of Somalia of providing funding and logistics to the militias in a bid to undermine President Abdiaziz Laftagareen’s leadership. The federal government has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the allegations.
Residents reported hours of sustained gunfire and intermittent explosions through Thursday afternoon, with many streets emptied and storefronts shuttered. “The situation is very tense. We can hear heavy machine-gun fire and occasional blasts,” said Adan Ahmed, a shopkeeper who fled the city center. “Most businesses are shuttered, and people are staying indoors.”
The confrontation comes amid a period of sharpened political friction between the Southwest administration and federal authorities over constitutional reforms and the timeline for national elections. Earlier this week, the federal government blocked flights carrying security details for regional leaders from landing in Mogadishu, citing protocol breaches — a move that further inflamed tensions with federal member states.
Baidoa, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Mogadishu, is a strategic logistics and political hub for operations against al-Shabab. The city has frequently been a flashpoint in Somalia’s contested federal system and sits within a region where the al-Qaida-linked insurgent group controls significant rural territory.
Analysts and diplomats say the renewed infighting between state and federal-aligned forces risks fracturing security coordination and diverting attention from the government’s declared “total war” against al-Shabab. It also raises alarm over civilian safety in a city already strained by displacement and economic pressures stemming from conflict and drought.
Details on casualties or arrests were not immediately available. Local authorities urged residents to remain indoors and avoid areas of active operations. There was no immediate indication of how long the offensive would continue.
As gunfire persisted into the evening, community elders in Baidoa called for restraint and urged both sides to de-escalate while political leaders in Mogadishu and Baidoa seek a negotiated path out of the impasse. Whether those overtures gain traction could determine if the standoff remains a localized flare-up or deepens into a broader confrontation within Somalia’s fragile political order.
This is a developing story.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
