IED event in Baidoa area, Somalia on Mon 17th August 2026

BAIDOA, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER)

— Before dawn on Monday, fighters loyal to ousted South West State president Abdiaziz Laftagareen attacked federal positions in Baidoa. It is the city he was forced out of five months ago. The attack reignited a conflict Mogadishu had declared settled.

Residents reported heavy gunfire and explosions in the Towfiiq neighborhood. Fighting broke out around 5 a.m. Somalia's Ministry of Defense said the assault involved vehicles packed with explosives. It described the attacking force as a mix of Al-Shabaab militants and militias loyal to Laftagareen — using the term "Khawaarij,” the standard Somali term for Al-Shabaab, to describe them.

The ministry said its forces repelled the attack and killed at least 30 of the assailants. Laftagareen's side told a different story. His spokesperson, Hassan Mohamed, said in a statement that Laftagareen's forces had captured Baidoa's city center. He called on federal troops to surrender. That claim could not be independently verified.

Later reporting suggested the army ultimately drove the attackers back out after hours of fighting. Some vehicles belonging to the attacking force were reportedly seized by government troops before the fighters withdrew.

Monday's attack was not the first. It likely won't be the last. Laftagareen-aligned fighters have mounted a running campaign against Baidoa ever since federal forces took the city in March. Clashes in the villages surrounding Baidoa in late May left two officers of the Turkish-trained Gorgor forces dead. Fighters loyal to Laftagareen briefly entered the city before withdrawing to the rural periphery.

Somali Guardian described a "series of attacks” by Laftagareen's forces through the summer, with his fighters and Al-Shabaab positioned in different directions around the town. A central figure in that campaign is Mahad Abdirahman, widely known by his nickname "Taliye Shub.” He is Laftagareen's father-in-law and close personal ally, and the former commander of Somalia's Custodial Corps, the country's prison security service. He was placed under federal house arrest in Mogadishu as part of the same operation that removed Laftagareen from power in late March. Former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo publicly denounced that detention as political revenge. Since leaving custody, Taliye Shub has issued public threats against South West's current leadership. According to sources, he still commands loyalty among elements of the security forces themselves. He now also sits as a member of parliament, having secured his seat with Laftagareen's backing — giving him a formal political platform alongside whatever influence he retains inside the security services. New fighters were reported reinforcing Laftagareen's positions in the Bay region as recently as August 11. Monday's assault was the culmination of that buildup, not a bolt from nowhere.