Fighting in Somali city leaves dozens wounded; officials say 70 militants killed
Heavy fighting broke out in the Somali city of Baidoa, with regional authorities claiming more than 70 militants were killed and an aid group reporting dozens of patients arriving at a hospital. Officials blame al-Shabaab for the attack, while forces loyal to a former regional leader say they launched an offensive to retake the city.
The clashes began early Monday in Baidoa, in southwestern Somalia. Residents reported explosions and sustained gunfire as fighters supporting former regional President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen attacked positions held by federal troops and forces backing his successor, according to Somali news outlet Hiiraan Online.
Baidoa is a major city in South West State, one of the regional states that make up Somalia’s federal system. The fighting involves competing claims to regional authority, with the current administration led by President Adan Mohamed Nur Madobe.
That administration said Somali troops confronted an al-Shabaab assault involving suicide attackers and vehicles packed with explosives. It also alleged that foreign individuals operated drones carrying explosives and that attackers struck civilian sites, including hotels, businesses, schools, health facilities, homes and mosques.
Al-Shabaab is an al-Qaeda-linked militant group that has waged a longstanding insurgency against Somalia’s government.
Officials claimed more than 70 militants, including foreign fighters, were killed and that weapons and military vehicles were seized or destroyed. They acknowledged that civilians and soldiers also died but did not give a toll.
Laftagareen’s faction described its offensive as an effort to restore security and claimed it inflicted heavy losses on federal and regional forces, Hiiraan Online reported. It also accused Somalia’s federal government and Turkey of conducting airstrikes, alleging that Turkish F-16 jets fired six missiles and caused civilian casualties.
Neither the claimed militant death toll nor the allegations of Turkish airstrikes have been independently verified. The overall number of deaths and injuries remains unclear.
Doctors Without Borders said teams working with Somalia’s Ministry of Health at Bay Regional Hospital have received 69 patients affected by the violence, including five children. Three deaths have been recorded at the hospital.
The organization also reported that a healthcare worker was killed, an ambulance was looted and a health facility was reportedly severely damaged. Two medical staff working alongside its teams were robbed, with one injured.
Roads to hospitals have been blocked since the fighting began, leaving many wounded people unable to reach treatment.
“Injured people need immediate medical attention, but many cannot reach hospital. Without timely treatment, many can bleed to death,” said Dr. Elshafie Mohammed, the organization’s representative in Somalia.
The post Fighting in Somali city leaves dozens wounded; officials say 70 militants killed appeared first on BNO News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
