Fierce clashes between Somali government forces and militias in the southwestern city of Baidoa have killed dozens of fighters and left at least four civilians dead and 98 others injured, a hospital official said Tuesday.
The fighting erupted early Monday after militia groups attacked government positions on the outskirts of Baidoa, a city of more than half a million people, many of whom have been displaced by conflict and drought.
Somali government officials said nearly 30 attackers were killed, while authorities in the South West state claimed the death toll among the attackers was around 50. The figures could not be independently verified, and no official toll was immediately available for government casualties.
Dr. Abdikafi Omar Mohamud, head of the emergency department at Bay Regional Hospital, said four civilians were killed and 98 others wounded in the clashes. The injured included 28 women and an elderly man who was struck by stray bullets.
The violence further strained health services already struggling to care for residents and displaced people in Baidoa, located about 245 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Mogadishu.
Mohamud said the hospital had only 40 beds available and was forced to set up an emergency tent to treat the large number of casualties. Medical staff were also facing shortages of essential medicines.
Calm returned to Baidoa on Tuesday, with security forces patrolling major streets and inspecting buildings and vehicles damaged during the fighting. Residents gradually came out of their homes, although troops maintained a strong presence in key areas.
The clashes began shortly after 5am Monday when two explosions were heard near a military base east of Baidoa. Heavy fighting then broke out around another military position in Bonkay, south of the city, before armed men entered Baidoa and exchanged gunfire with government forces.
Samira Gaid, a regional security analyst at Balqiis Insights, said fighters loyal to former South West state President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen managed to push government troops out of parts of the city for about six hours before being forced back.
She said fighters from al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked extremist group, separately attacked two Somali military positions around Baidoa. The timing of the attacks raised allegations that the group may have coordinated with Laftagareen's forces.
The federal government said the attackers included Laftagareen-aligned militias and al-Shabab fighters. It said its forces killed nearly 30 attackers and captured several others.
South West Internal Security Minister Isak Mohamed Korsaar said government forces recovered the bodies of al-Shabab fighters and detained others.
“The militias that attacked us were not alone,” Korsaar told reporters, saying authorities had confirmed that al-Shabab fighters had joined the assault.
The latest clashes came amid months of political tensions over the leadership and electoral process in South West state. The federal government rejected Laftagareen's disputed indirect re-election in March.
Federal forces took control of Baidoa on March 30, prompting Laftagareen, who had led South West since 2018, to announce his resignation.
Gaid warned that continued political disputes could provide extremist groups with opportunities to expand their influence.
“When elite disputes are settled militarily, they create the conditions that the terrorist group exploits,” she said, adding that Somali civilians ultimately bear the consequences.