Somalia

Children have been killed and injured in fresh fighting in Baidoa, in Somalia’s South West State, where families were already facing severe hunger and other overlapping crises. … In the past few weeks, clashes have broken out in Baidoa, the state’s largest city, between Government forces and fighters loyal to the former regional president, who was ousted in March.

Intense clashes have broken out in the Somali city of Baidoa between government forces and fighters loyal to the ousted regional president. … Fighting erupted in Baidoa on August 17, when Bay Regional Hospital reported four deaths and 94 people wounded, and again on September 3, when 71 people were treated for injuries and one death was recorded.

The United States reportedly plans to extend its backing of the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), which is vital to the African Union’s key counterterrorism force remaining in Somalia, into 2027. Reuters reported on September 18 that the United States has circulated a diplomatic note indicating that it will extend its support to UNSOS through 2027.

Somalia’s military says it has repelled an attack by two armed groups in Baidoa, the largest city in Somalia’s South West State. In a statement posted on X, Somalia’s Defence Ministry said “militias” loyal to ousted Governor Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen launched the attack early on Thursday morning.

The African Union authorised its mission in Somalia to join federal government forces in military operations in South West State against Al-Shabaab and armed groups it described as affiliated with the militants, according to an internal AU memorandum reviewed by Somalia Today.

The World Food Programme (WFP), the UN agency providing food assistance, said around one third of Somalia’s population is now facing acute hunger, with nearly two million children expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year.

Somalia’s army has said it has driven opposition fighters out of Baidoa, the largest city in Somalia’s South West State, after hours of heavy fighting.

Armed forces from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland state have attacked a camp held by federal government troops, in the latest flare-up between regional leaders and the Somali government. Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni told a news conference on Wednesday in the regional capital Garowe that the assault was “a planned security operation” to send a “clear message to anyone working against the Puntland government”.

[…] The discussions centred on expanding bilateral security cooperation and strengthening the operational capacity of Somalia's armed forces, the defence ministry said.

Ending the military-heavy AUSSOM gives the AU space to develop a political mission focused on long-term stabilisation.