September 29, 2026

Baidoa remains tense but relatively calm following Monday’s heavy fighting. Federal and South West administration forces retain control of the city’s principal government institutions, while forces aligned with former South West State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen remain active outside Baidoa.
The human cost remains uncertain. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that Bay Regional Hospital received 69 people affected by the violence, including five children, and recorded three deaths. A healthcare worker was killed, a health facility was severely damaged and an ambulance was looted. Roads leading to hospitals were also blocked during the fighting.
South West authorities have issued substantially higher casualty figures for attacking forces, but those figures remain independently unverified.
The Federal Government and South West authorities also allege that Al-Shabaab participated alongside Laftagareen-aligned forces. Laftagareen’s side denies the allegation, and independent reporting has not established operational cooperation between the two forces.

Brief Political Context
The fighting stems from an unresolved power struggle over South West State following the removal of Laftagareen’s administration and the installation of a new regional leadership backed by the Federal Government. Laftagareen and his supporters rejected the new political order and retained armed forces outside Baidoa. The dispute has consequently evolved from a political confrontation into repeated armed clashes over control and authority in the regional capital.
The immediate battle has subsided, but the underlying political and military confrontation remains unresolved, leaving Baidoa’s security situation fragile and vulnerable to renewed fighting.

WAPMEN/WDM — Monitoring