MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s federal government on Saturday airlifted dozens of Turkish-trained special police officers to the town of Baidoa, expanding its security presence weeks after the removal of the regional president.
The deployment follows a warning issued days earlier by the interim leadership of Southwest state, which cited the threat of possible attacks in Baidoa by the militant group Al-Shabaab and urged heightened vigilance among residents and security agencies.
According to sources quoted by local media, federal authorities plan to rotate out troops who had previously operated in the town, sending them to training camps. Newly deployed federal forces are expected to assume responsibility for security in Baidoa until upcoming elections are completed.
The government has said it intends to hold regional council and parliamentary elections by the end of this month under a universal suffrage model. Officials have emphasized that the country will no longer rely on the indirect voting system that has defined its electoral process for the past three decades.
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