Somalia suspends Mogadishu–Baidoa flights amid Southwest rift

Somalia’s federal government suspended civilian flights between Mogadishu and Baidoa on Tuesday as tensions with Southwest State escalated, local officials and sources said.

Local sources said that as of Tuesday morning, commercial passenger aircraft were unable to land in Baidoa following the decision, with only United Nations and cargo flights permitted during the suspension.

Officials in Southwest State condemned the measure and said travelers were left stranded at the airport.

Ilyas Ali Nur, a senior official in the regional administration, said:

“The Somali government has stopped passenger planes from arriving in Baidoa. People entered the airport at 6:00 this morning, and they have not been allowed to departure yet.”

Sources indicated that flight clearances had been granted, but the scheduled passenger flight was canceled and was expected to resume operations the following day.

Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, director of information at the Southwest presidential palace, criticized the decision in a social media post, writing:

“It is a shame that the Somali people are being detained at a public airport. The civil aviation authority and the president, whose term is short, must refrain from such practices. This is a historic and memorable event.”

The federal government has not issued an official explanation for the temporary suspension.

The disruption came hours after Southwest State said it had severed political and cooperative ties with Mogadishu, accusing the federal government of interfering in its internal affairs.

In a statement, the regional administration alleged that federal authorities had conducted military mobilization within Southwest territories in recent months in ways it said threaten social cohesion and undermine the state’s governance system. It also accused federal cabinet members of direct involvement in regional security, economic, and administrative matters.

Southwest officials further claimed that weapons and military equipment were being supplied to unidentified militias operating in the region, which they described as armed groups outside the recognized state security framework.

The federal government has not publicly responded to those allegations.