Fighting breaks out in Baidoa as Somali army clashes with regional forces
MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Heavy fighting broke out in Baidoa, the administrative seat of Somalia’s Southwest region, as federal government forces clashed with local troops. The town lies approximately 246 kilometers northwest of the capital, Mogadishu. Local reports indicate that Somali army units, advancing over the past several days under the cover of Turkish air support […]
Black News 
MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Heavy fighting broke out in Baidoa, the administrative seat of Somalia’s Southwest region, as federal government forces clashed with local troops. The town lies approximately 246 kilometers northwest of the capital, Mogadishu.
Local reports indicate that Somali army units, advancing over the past several days under the cover of Turkish air support to prevent militant ambushes along the road, initiated the confrontation. The escalation occurred just hours after Somali Minister of Ports Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur – whom reports suggest President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud intends to install as regional president – made a controversial remark, suggesting that government officials should wear women’s head coverings if Baidoa was not captured within 24 hours.
Turkey has reportedly played a significant role in the offensive, while Ethiopian forces, long allied with regional leader Laftagaren to consolidate power in the area, have remained neutral.
Southwest state authorities said they are defending key positions in Baidoa and have taken several federal government soldiers involved in the attack prisoner. Local media also reported that government forces were instructed to halt their advance at the city’s central police station and to avoid attacking the airport and presidential palace, which remain under Ethiopian military control as part of the African Union peacekeeping mission.
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