Ethiopia: Fighting Erupts in Somalia's Baidoa Between Federal Forces, Former Southwest President Loyalists

[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- Heavy fighting erupted in central Baidoa on Monday between Somali federal forces and armed groups loyal to former South West State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, marking a renewed escalation in the political and security crisis that has gripped the regional capital since

Heavy clashes broke out in Baidoa, Somalia between federal troops and armed opposition groups.

Somalia's federal troops and armed opposition groups clashed in heavy fighting in Baidoa city centre on Monday, a local resident and an army officer told Reuters.

Fresh fighting in the city could compound a dire humanitarian crisis in the area. Baidoa hosts hundreds of thousands of displaced people; one in four children at refugee sites is malnourished.

MOGADISHU, Aug 17 - Somali federal troops drove opposition forces out of one of the country's biggest cities, Baidoa, on Monday, following heavy clashes that left many people dead, residents told Reuters.

Somalia federal troops and armed opposition clash in Baidoa city  reuters.com