Senior Somali commanders killed in Al-Shabaab ambush near Baidoa as Southwest crisis deepens

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Two senior Somali military commanders were killed on Thursday after Islamist militants ambushed government forces outside Baidoa, underscoring the worsening security crisis in Somalia’s Southwest state amid escalating political instability.

The attack, claimed by the militant group Al-Shabaab, targeted a convoy of Somali federal troops on the outskirts of Baidoa in Bay region, where tensions have intensified following the removal of Southwest regional leader Abdiasis Laftagaren earlier this year.

Among those killed were General Ali Addow, commander of the Somali National Army’s 8th Brigade, and Colonel Yonis, a senior officer in the army’s 60th Division. Their deaths represent one of the heaviest battlefield losses suffered by federal forces since Somali troops seized control of Baidoa in March with support from Turkish military air power.

According to security sources, the ambush began when Al-Shabaab fighters attacked a military convoy travelling outside the city, triggering intense clashes with Somali government forces in territory long regarded as a militant stronghold.

Al-Shabaab claimed its fighters killed 20 Somali soldiers, including three commanders, and captured four military vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns. Somali authorities had not immediately released an official casualty toll or detailed account of the fighting.

The assault highlighted the fragile security situation surrounding Baidoa despite the heavy military presence inside the regional capital, where thousands of Ethiopian troops remain deployed.

Although federal forces maintain control over central Baidoa, roads leading into and out of the city continue to face frequent militant attacks, limiting the movement of soldiers and government officials across much of the Bay region.

In late March, Somalia’s federal government deployed more than 2,000 troops from Mogadishu to Baidoa in a heavily armed convoy supported by armoured personnel carriers. The deployment travelled along the 246-kilometre road connecting Mogadishu and Baidoa — a route rarely used by federal troops in recent years because of Al-Shabaab control across large stretches of territory.

Officials at the time described the operation as a major military breakthrough and a demonstration of the government’s growing ability to project force into insurgent-held areas.

Despite securing Baidoa itself, however, federal troops have struggled to expand their control beyond the city limits. Thursday’s ambush reinforced concerns that Al-Shabaab continues to operate freely in rural areas surrounding the regional capital, where the group has maintained influence for more than a decade.

The deteriorating security environment has coincided with mounting political unrest in Southwest state.

Fighters loyal to Abdiasis Laftagaren have launched attacks in and around Baidoa in recent days after withdrawing from the city when federal forces entered in March. The fighters have vowed to continue resisting until Laftagaren’s administration is reinstated.

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 significant democratic milestone.

The electoral commission said the ruling party secured 53% of ballots counted, but opposition groups alleged widespread irregularities and manipulation during the voting process.

Laftagaren rejected the election results as illegitimate and insisted he remained the lawful president of Southwest state despite announcing his resignation shortly after federal troops entered Baidoa.

He later travelled to Kenya under what sources described as an undisclosed arrangement with Somalia’s federal authorities.

The killing of the two commanders is likely to deepen concerns over the federal government’s ability to stabilise Southwest state, where Somali troops, regional factions, clan militias and Al-Shabaab insurgents are increasingly locked in a volatile struggle for power and territorial control.

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