Fourth Baidoa Clash This Year Exposes Somalia's Unresolved Power Struggle

Somali forces repelled a militia assault on Baidoa on September 3 — the fourth such clash this year. Militias loyal to ousted Governor Laftagareen, removed by federal troops in March, cannot hold the city but keep destabilizing it. The Defence Ministry accused the attackers of operating alongside al-Shabaab without providing evidence. No political or military resolution to the standoff is apparent.