Somali Forces Crush Laftagareen-Al-Shabaab Attack on Baidoa

MOGADISHU — The Somali National Army said it repelled an early morning assault on the city of Baidoa on Wednesday, carried out by militia fighters loyal to Abdiaziz Laftagareen operating together with Al-Shabaab militants.

In an urgent statement, the Ministry of Defence said the attack began at around 4:15 a.m. with explosions intended to spread panic among the civilian population. Government forces "courageously confronted" the assault and inflicted heavy losses on the attacking fighters, the ministry said.

Notably, the statement described the assailants as a merged force of Laftagareen-aligned militia and Al-Shabaab fighters — whom it referred to as "Khawarij," the government's standard term for the group — an unusually direct accusation linking the Southwest State strongman's forces to the militant organization.

The ministry said an assessment is under way to verify the casualties inflicted on the attackers, and that official details will be shared with the public once the evaluation is complete.

Baidoa, the interim capital of Southwest State, has long been a strategic stronghold in the government's campaign against Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia.