Somalia’s South West Vows to Retake 5 Towns

SOMALIA · SOUTH WEST STATE · SECURITY

Fighters loyal to a regional president removed by Mogadishu in March have taken a ring of towns around Baidoa in southern Somalia. The federally backed administration now says it will fight to win them back.

Forces loyal to Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, known as Laftagareen, the former president of Somalia’s South West State, have taken five towns around the state capital, Baidoa, the latest of them on Saturday, 17 October. On Sunday the federally backed administration that replaced him announced an offensive to retake them, beginning with Buurhakaba on the main road to Mogadishu.

For American readers, the fight matters because it splits the forces that are supposed to hold southern Somalia against al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda affiliate that Washington lists as a foreign terrorist organization. The federal government accuses Laftagareen’s camp of links to the group, while Ethiopian troops serving with the African Union stood aside as the towns changed hands.

Which Towns Changed Hands

Military officials said on Saturday that Laftagareen’s forces had taken Bardale (also spelled Berdale), Dinsoor, Buurhakaba and Qansaxdheere, as well as Awdiinle, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Baidoa, according to the AFP report carried by Hiiraan Online. That left the South West administration and its allies without control of most of the state, the report said.

Qansaxdheere, about 90 kilometres (56 miles) southwest of Baidoa, fell first, on Thursday, 8 October, Horseed Media reported, and Buurhakaba followed in the days after. Most of the takeovers were bloodless, although clashes were reported during the capture of Buurhakaba.

“In Berdale, Darawish forces loyal to Laftagareen arrived on motorcycles, heavily armed, and took control without resistance,” resident Suleyman Nurow told AFP. The Darawish are the regional state’s own security forces, and part of them has sided with the former president.

Nurow said local officials fled to a nearby African Union base, where Ethiopian troops stayed inside and did not intervene. In a statement, Laftagareen praised his forces for having “successfully recaptured and liberated four districts.”

The Offensive Announced in Baidoa

South West State’s information minister, Nur Sidow Baba, said on Sunday that the counter-offensive would begin in Buurhakaba, Caasimada Online reported. He had already promised that “in the coming days the people of South West will hear news that makes them very happy” and that districts held by the “Khawarij”, the Somali government’s term for al-Shabaab, would return to government control.

Horseed Media reported the same day that federal and South West forces were mobilising to retake Qansaxdheere, Bardale, Buurhakaba, Awdiinle and Dinsoor. A former regional minister, Hassan Hussein Eelay, accused Laftagareen’s forces of joining al-Shabaab, a claim Horseed said it could not verify.

The Somali broadcaster Kaab TV reported that troops who had left Bardale had reached Baidoa and that some residents were leaving their homes for fear of fighting. It also reported a curfew from 8 p.m. in Barawe, the coastal capital of the Lower Shabelle region, without an official reason.

Who Is Fighting Whom

South West State is one of Somalia’s federal member states, covering the Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions, with Baidoa as its capital. Laftagareen led it from 2018 until March 2026, when the government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sent troops to remove him, and he has tried to retake it ever since.

The administration in Baidoa is now led by Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur, known as Madoobe, with federal backing. At a dinner reported on Monday, he and the speaker of the federal House of the People, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, met members of parliament from South West State to discuss security, the Somali outlet Goobjoog said.

On 13 October Somalia’s National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Committee added Laftagareen and nine others to its targeted financial sanctions list. Its two-page decision cites evidence of suspected financial support for al-Shabaab but does not set out the case against any of the ten.

In remarks reported on Monday, the speaker, who is known as Jaamac, demanded that the government explain why “anti-peace groups” are present where peacekeeping troops operate, Horseed Media said. He also called it unacceptable that Kenya, a country with good relations with Somalia, hosts Laftagareen and others whom the government has put on its terrorism list.

What It Means for US Readers

The United States has listed al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization since 2008 and has long backed the Somali forces that fight it. A war between two camps that were both meant to be on the government side pulls men and attention away from that fight in a region where al-Shabaab still runs rural areas.

The crisis also touches two of Washington’s main security partners in East Africa. Kenya is accused by Somalia’s speaker of sheltering Laftagareen, and Ethiopia, which provides troops in Bay and Bakool, is fighting a war at home in its Tigray region.

The State Department rates Somalia at Level 4 and tells Americans, “Do not travel to Somalia for any reason.” Somali American families with relatives in Bay should expect disrupted roads, markets and money transfers if the fighting spreads to Baidoa.

What Is Not Known

No side has published casualty figures for the takeovers or for the clashes in Buurhakaba. It is not known how many fighters Laftagareen commands, who arms them, or whether the announced offensive has begun.

Kaab TV reported claims that Ethiopian troops have pulled out of some positions in Bay and Bakool, which no government has confirmed. The federal accusation that Laftagareen’s camp works with al-Shabaab has not been tested in any court.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Laftagareen?

Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, known as Laftagareen, was president of Somalia’s South West State from 2018 until federal troops removed him in March 2026. Forces loyal to him have since taken five towns around Baidoa.

Which towns did his forces take?

They took Qansaxdheere, Buurhakaba, Bardale, Dinsoor and Awdiinle in the Bay region. Awdiinle lies about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Baidoa.

Is this fighting linked to al-Shabaab?

The federal government put Laftagareen on a financial sanctions list on 13 October over suspected support for al-Shabaab. No court has tested that accusation, and the published decision does not set out the evidence.

What role do Ethiopian troops play?

Ethiopian soldiers serve in the Bay region with the African Union mission that fights al-Shabaab. A resident of Bardale said they stayed inside their base and did not intervene when Laftagareen’s forces arrived.

Can Americans travel to Somalia?

The State Department rates Somalia at Level 4, its highest warning. It tells Americans not to travel there for any reason.

Sources: National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Committee, targeted financial sanctions list GQKL/LMA/004/2026, 13 October 2026, Hiiraan Online (AFP), Regional forces capture key towns in southern Somalia, 18 October 2026, Caasimada Online (Somali), South West names the first district to be retaken, 18 October 2026, Horseed Media, Somali federal government and South West administration mobilize forces in Bay region, 18 October 2026, Horseed Media (Somali), 18 October 2026, Horseed Media (Somali), Speaker Jaamac on Kenya and Laftagareen, 19 October 2026, Goobjoog (Somali), speaker and South West leader meet MPs, 19 October 2026, Kaab TV (Somali), tension in South West, forces reach Baidoa, 18 October 2026, Kaab TV (Somali), Bay and Bakool, Ethiopian troop movements, 18 October 2026, Horseed Media, Laftagareen-aligned forces take Qansaxdheere, October 2026, US Department of State, Foreign Terrorist Organizations, US Department of State, Somalia travel advisory, updated 3 June 2026, Wikimedia Commons, AMISOM Public Information, Baidoa, 2 March 2014, Wikimedia Commons, Xoolaha Baydhabo, by Mayow2020.

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