Somali army takes over a key city, and the leader of the area steps down

Somalia’s national army took over the largest city in the Southwest state on Monday. The takeover caused the leader of the region to quit, two weeks after his government said it was cutting ties with the federal government.

International peacekeepers and humanitarian groups live in the strategic city of Baidoa, which is also the administrative capital of the South West state. Drought, violence, and displacement have affected the city.

An elder in the area, Adan Hussein, told Reuters, “Federal forces have taken over Baidoa. The city is currently calm, but it resembles a deserted town.

Hussein Abdullahi, a shopkeeper in Baidoa, said that federal troops were responsible for his area of the city. Baidoa is located about 245 km (150 miles) northwest of Mogadishu, which is the capital.

In a Facebook post, South West state president Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen said he was stepping down, just days after being re-elected for a fifth term.

Over the past week, many people have left Baidoa, and some aid groups have stopped working because they are afraid that the army and regional troops will fight.

The fight between South West states is the latest sign that the Horn of Africa country’s weak federal system is under pressure. Each time, political fault lines appear because of disagreements over elections and the balance of power between Mogadishu and regional governments.

Laftagareen’s government was against constitutional changes that the federal government supported, arguing that these changes would undermine regional autonomy and exacerbate tensions between the federal and state governments.

A message from Somalia’s federal information ministry was read on national TV. It said that “the former South West state administration, which opposed the federal government’s initiatives, created political conflict.” It said that on Monday, federal troops were welcomed in Baidoa.