MOGADISHU (Kaab TV) – Calm has returned to Baidoa, the interim capital of South West State, on Friday after two days of heavy fighting rocked the city.
At least 15 people were killed in the two-day clashes between South West State security forces and militia groups loyal to local politicians.
The fighting erupted on Wednesday after a militia led by an officer identified as Abdirahman Niishow—formerly a member of the Somali National Army and reportedly linked to the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Aden Mohamed Nur (Aden Madoobe)—attacked South West State forces stationed at a site earmarked for the construction of a new Ministry of Livestock building.
The construction project is part of a World Bank–funded development initiative, according to official sources of the Southwest State.
The land designated for the construction is claimed by an arms trafficker known as Macalin Cabdow, and fighting broke out almost immediately.
According to the South West State Minister of Information, Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, the clashes on the first day lasted for most of the day.
“Our forces fought against criminal gangs who were looting civilians,” the minister said in a statement issued on the first day of the fighting.
However, journalists reported that the conflict intensified on the second day, Thursday, after militias loyal to the Federal Government’s Minister of Livestock, Hassan Mohamed Hussein, commonly known as Hassan Eelaay, joined the fighting.
By Thursday evening, South West State forces succeeded in driving the militias out of the city.
At least five bodies were seen inside a house used by the militias and owned by the Federal Minister of Livestock, located in central Baidoa.
Casualties
At least 15 people are confirmed dead, including combatants and civilians.
Baidoa district authorities and officials who visited the city’s two hospitals—the Bay Regional Hospital and Heegan Hospital—reported that around 10 civilians, including children, were injured by stray bullets.
The South West State Minister of Security, Mohamed Abduqadir, told the media late Thursday that security had been fully restored and that the fighting groups had been expelled from the city.
“We warned them before, including a federal minister, that what they are doing will not earn them political office,” the minister said.
No statement has been issued by the Office of the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Aden Madoobe, who has been accused of involvement in the Baidoa fighting.
However, the Federal Minister of Livestock, Hassan Eelaay, released a brief statement accusing the South West State authorities of attacking his house in Baidoa.
Members of the Federal Parliament based in Mogadishu have also commented on the clashes, though they remain divided in their views over the incident.
The fighting in Baidoa comes as President Abdiaziz Laftagareen faces mounting pressure over delayed elections, with his term in office having ended in December 2022. Opposition politicians, backed by the federal government in Mogadishu, have been calling for the regional election to be held as soon as possible.