MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Two senior Somali military commanders were killed on Thursday after Islamist militants ambushed government forces on the outskirts of Baidoa, deepening instability in Somalia’s troubled Southwest state amid an escalating political and security crisis.
The attack, claimed by the armed group Al-Shabaab, targeted a convoy of Somali federal troops near Baidoa in the Bay region, an area that has witnessed weeks of political upheaval following the removal of Southwest regional leader Abdiasis Laftagaren.
Among those killed were General Ali Addow, commander of the Somali National Army’s 8th Brigade, and Colonel Yonis, a senior commander in the army’s 60th Division. Their deaths mark one of the most serious battlefield setbacks for federal forces since the government seized control of Baidoa in March with the backing of Turkish air power.
The ambush erupted after militants attacked a military convoy travelling outside the city, triggering fierce clashes between Somali forces and Al-Shabaab fighters in territory long regarded as a militant stronghold. The insurgent group said it killed 20 soldiers, including three commanders, and captured four military vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns. Somali authorities have not immediately issued a formal account of the casualties or the full scale of the fighting.
The attack has exposed the fragile security situation surrounding Baidoa despite the heavy military presence in the town itself, where thousands of Ethiopian troops are stationed. While federal forces control the city centre, major routes leading in and out of Baidoa remain vulnerable to militant activity, severely restricting movement for soldiers and officials across the region.
In late March, the federal government deployed more than 2,000 troops from Mogadishu to Baidoa in a heavily armed convoy supported by armoured personnel carriers. The operation travelled along the 246km road linking Mogadishu and Baidoa – a route federal forces had rarely used in years because of Al-Shabaab control. Officials at the time hailed the deployment as a landmark military achievement.
Yet despite securing Baidoa, federal troops have struggled to project power beyond the city limits. Thursday’s assault underlined the continued reach of Al-Shabaab around the regional capital, where militants have maintained a powerful presence for more than a decade.
The deteriorating security environment has coincided with growing political unrest across Southwest state. Armed fighters loyal to Abdiasis Laftagaren have carried out attacks in and around Baidoa in recent days after withdrawing from the city when federal forces took control. The fighters have vowed to continue resisting until Laftagaren’s administration is restored.
Earlier this week, Somalia’s federal government organised what it described as a universal suffrage election across parts of Southwest state, presenting the vote as a major democratic milestone. The electoral commission said the ruling party won 53% of ballots counted, but rival political groups alleged widespread manipulation and irregularities.
Laftagaren rejected the election as illegitimate and insisted he remained the lawful regional president, despite announcing his resignation shortly after federal troops entered Baidoa in March. He later travelled to Kenya under what sources described as an undisclosed arrangement with the federal government.
The killing of the two commanders is likely to intensify concerns over the government’s ability to stabilise Southwest state, where federal troops, regional factions, clan militias and Islamist insurgents are all competing for influence in an increasingly volatile struggle for control.
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