Friday December 23, 2022
Baidoa (HOL) - Southwest security forces and clan militia forces loyal to group of opposition candidates exchanged gunfire in Baidoa on Friday morning, with no casualties reported.
There has recently been an intense stalemate between the Southwest authorities and the opposition candidates.
Southwest parliament extended President Abdiaziz Laftagaren's term by one year three years ago, and it expires on December 19, 2023. However, the opposition opposed the president's term extension.The Federal government of Somalia said it regrets the
violent confrontation reported in Baidoa; urged the political sides to resolve
their differences through dialogue and avoid bloodshed.
Southwest state districts are the worst drought-affected areas across the country as conditions are particularly concerning in Baidoa and Buur Hakaba districts, where elevated malnutrition and mortality rates have surpassed emergency thresholds, alongside disease outbreaks, including cholera and measles.
Baidoa, the administrative capital of Somalia's South West state, is one of the worst drought-affected areas in the country. According to the UN agencies, people who have lost their livelihoods due to drought arrive at relief camps every day in search of humanitarian assistance.
The U.N. said more than 7.7 million Somalis—nearly half of the country's population - need humanitarian assistance because of the drought.