Until recently, Baidoa was a place where people came to rebuild after losing the lives they once had elsewhere. The city has grown into an important center of life in South West Somalia, with markets, businesses, public institutions, and communities that have expanded around it. Families from across Bay and Bakool have moved to Baidoa after losing homes, livestock, land, and livelihoods to conflict, drought, and insecurity. Today, the city hosts more than half a million displaced people. [1] For people coming from places where movement had become difficult and daily life harder to sustain, Baidoa offered access to markets, services, and opportunities to earn a living. Many did not come simply because they needed assistance. They came because they needed somewhere to stay, work, and start over.
For a family that has already lost its home or livelihood, arriving in a new place is not the end of displacement. It begins another difficult process: finding work, earning an income, keeping children in school, and gradually building stability. Around the outskirts of Baidoa, displaced families have built shelters, started small businesses, taken casual work, cultivated small plots, and found other ways to support themselves. The Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development’s 2024–25 Durable Solutions Progress Survey found that 79 percent of surveyed IDP households in Baidoa came from Bay and 15 percent from Bakool, while 59 percent identified livelihood opportunities as a reason for moving to the city. [2]
Rebuilding has never been easy. Families on the outskirts still face drought, climate shocks, insecurity, severe food insecurity, and movement restrictions. Some arrived after losing livestock or farmland. Others came from places where insecurity or blockades made it difficult to trade, farm, or move freely. Assistance has helped families through some of these pressures, but it cannot replace a lost livelihood. In July 2026, a Médecins Sans Frontières survey of 888 households across 14 displacement sites in Baidoa found that one in two children was acutely malnourished, and one in four severely so. [1] For a household living on a small income, several days without work can mean less food, another debt, or a child missing school. These pressures affect displaced and host communities alike. Despite this, people have continued to work, trade, and raise their children in Baidoa, trying to make the city a place they can stay.
That effort is now being disrupted by repeated political violence. In March 2026, as tensions between the federal government and the South West State administration escalated, more than 50,000 people fled Baidoa amid fears of fighting, including many who were already living in displacement sites. [3] Federal forces took control of the city on March 30, and Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen announced his resignation as South West State president. [4] Since then, federal forces and forces loyal to the former president have fought in and around the city on May 30, August 17, September 3 to 5, and September 28. [5, 7] During the fighting on September 28, residents and news agencies also reported air strikes and drones on the city’s outskirts, although responsibility has not been independently established. [7] Each round has pushed more people out of the city.
Disagreements over leadership, authority, and the relationship between South West State and the federal government are political questions. But when fighting reaches Baidoa, they become gunfire, artillery, and explosions that keep people inside their homes, make movement dangerous, and disrupt access to hospitals, markets, and other services. On August 22, young people in Baidoa gathered to call for peace, social cohesion, and an end to divisions that could damage their community. Their concern reflects something easy to miss in political discussions: people in the city have a direct interest in protecting the stability they have spent years trying to build.
For people who have already been displaced, another period of violence carries a different weight. Some came to Baidoa after conflict, drought, or insecurity made it impossible to remain where they were. Now some are being forced to flee again from the very city where they tried to rebuild. The clashes of September 3 to 5 alone displaced more than 14,000 people. [6] Civilians, including children, have been killed and wounded. After the fighting on August 17, Bay Regional Hospital reported four dead and 94 wounded; on September 28, MSF reported three deaths at the hospital, among them a health worker, and 69 wounded patients, five of them children. [7] Others who escaped physical injury are left with fear and the psychological strain of what they have witnessed. When roads become unsafe and movement is restricted, families can struggle to reach hospitals, earn an income, or access basic services.
The political differences will remain, but they need to be addressed through dialogue and mediation rather than another round of fighting. The federal government, the current South West State administration, the former South West State leadership, and other political stakeholders all have a role in reaching a political settlement. That does not mean the sides have to agree on everything. It means finding a way to resolve their differences without turning Baidoa into a battleground.
As a first step, all parties should keep fighting out of the city and away from displacement sites, refrain from using explosive weapons in populated areas, and guarantee civilians safe passage and unimpeded access to Bay Regional Hospital and other services. Talks should be convened by a credible mediator able to act as guarantor of what is agreed, not as a facilitator alone.
Baidoa is still a center of commerce, services, and everyday life for people across South West, including families who have lost homes and livelihoods elsewhere. Many residents have already left for fear of the next attack, but there is still time to reverse that trend, especially in a region that has been a haven for so many. Baidoa should remain a place where people can stay, work, and rebuild their lives, not another place from which they are forced to flee.
Sources
1. Médecins Sans Frontières, “Somalia: Survey of displaced families in Baidoa finds every second child malnourished,” August 11, 2026. https://www.msf.org/somalia-survey-displaced-families-baidoa-finds-every-second-child-malnourished
2. Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development, with IOM DTM, Somalia Durable Solutions Progress (DSP) Survey 2024–2025, Key Findings Factsheets: South-West State (Baidoa, Berdale, Xudur). https://mop.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2025/pdf/DSP_Factsheet_SOUTH-WEST_V2.pdf
3. UNHCR-led Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN), “Flash #12: Over 50,000 people displaced following political escalation in Baidoa, South-West State,” 2026. https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/121816
4. Hiiraan Online, “Southwest President Laftagareen resigns after federal government troops seize Baidoa,” March 2026. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2026/Mar/204781/southwest_president_laftagareen_resigns_after_federal_government_troops_seize_baidoa.aspx
5. Somali Guardian, “Somalia: Laftagaren forces briefly seize Baidoa after gunfight with army,” May 30, 2026. https://www.somaliguardian.com/news/somalia-news/somalia-baidoa-fighting/
6. PRMN, “Flash Alert #21: Clashes in Baidoa displaced more than 14,000 individuals,” September 2026. https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/124034
7. Al Jazeera, “Somali army clashes with local forces for control of Baidoa,” September 28, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/28/somali-army-clashes-with-local-forces-for-control-of-baidoa
Commentary
Baidoa and the Cost of Political Conflict
Baidoa and the Cost of Political Conflict
Until recently, Baidoa was a place where people came to rebuild after losing the lives they once had elsewhere. The city has grown into an important center of life in South West Somalia, with markets, businesses, public institutions, and communities that have expanded around it. Families from across Bay and Bakool have moved to Baidoa after losing homes, livestock, land, and livelihoods to conflict, drought, and insecurity. Today, the city hosts more than half a million displaced people. [1] For people coming from places where movement had become difficult and daily life harder to sustain, Baidoa offered access to markets, services, and opportunities to earn a living. Many did not come simply because they needed assistance. They came because they needed somewhere to stay, work, and start over.
For a family that has already lost its home or livelihood, arriving in a new place is not the end of displacement. It begins another difficult process: finding work, earning an income, keeping children in school, and gradually building stability. Around the outskirts of Baidoa, displaced families have built shelters, started small businesses, taken casual work, cultivated small plots, and found other ways to support themselves. The Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development’s 2024–25 Durable Solutions Progress Survey found that 79 percent of surveyed IDP households in Baidoa came from Bay and 15 percent from Bakool, while 59 percent identified livelihood opportunities as a reason for moving to the city. [2]
Rebuilding has never been easy. Families on the outskirts still face drought, climate shocks, insecurity, severe food insecurity, and movement restrictions. Some arrived after losing livestock or farmland. Others came from places where insecurity or blockades made it difficult to trade, farm, or move freely. Assistance has helped families through some of these pressures, but it cannot replace a lost livelihood. In July 2026, a Médecins Sans Frontières survey of 888 households across 14 displacement sites in Baidoa found that one in two children was acutely malnourished, and one in four severely so. [1] For a household living on a small income, several days without work can mean less food, another debt, or a child missing school. These pressures affect displaced and host communities alike. Despite this, people have continued to work, trade, and raise their children in Baidoa, trying to make the city a place they can stay.
That effort is now being disrupted by repeated political violence. In March 2026, as tensions between the federal government and the South West State administration escalated, more than 50,000 people fled Baidoa amid fears of fighting, including many who were already living in displacement sites. [3] Federal forces took control of the city on March 30, and Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen announced his resignation as South West State president. [4] Since then, federal forces and forces loyal to the former president have fought in and around the city on May 30, August 17, September 3 to 5, and September 28. [5, 7] During the fighting on September 28, residents and news agencies also reported air strikes and drones on the city’s outskirts, although responsibility has not been independently established. [7] Each round has pushed more people out of the city.
Disagreements over leadership, authority, and the relationship between South West State and the federal government are political questions. But when fighting reaches Baidoa, they become gunfire, artillery, and explosions that keep people inside their homes, make movement dangerous, and disrupt access to hospitals, markets, and other services. On August 22, young people in Baidoa gathered to call for peace, social cohesion, and an end to divisions that could damage their community. Their concern reflects something easy to miss in political discussions: people in the city have a direct interest in protecting the stability they have spent years trying to build.
For people who have already been displaced, another period of violence carries a different weight. Some came to Baidoa after conflict, drought, or insecurity made it impossible to remain where they were. Now some are being forced to flee again from the very city where they tried to rebuild. The clashes of September 3 to 5 alone displaced more than 14,000 people. [6] Civilians, including children, have been killed and wounded. After the fighting on August 17, Bay Regional Hospital reported four dead and 94 wounded; on September 28, MSF reported three deaths at the hospital, among them a health worker, and 69 wounded patients, five of them children. [7] Others who escaped physical injury are left with fear and the psychological strain of what they have witnessed. When roads become unsafe and movement is restricted, families can struggle to reach hospitals, earn an income, or access basic services.
The political differences will remain, but they need to be addressed through dialogue and mediation rather than another round of fighting. The federal government, the current South West State administration, the former South West State leadership, and other political stakeholders all have a role in reaching a political settlement. That does not mean the sides have to agree on everything. It means finding a way to resolve their differences without turning Baidoa into a battleground.
As a first step, all parties should keep fighting out of the city and away from displacement sites, refrain from using explosive weapons in populated areas, and guarantee civilians safe passage and unimpeded access to Bay Regional Hospital and other services. Talks should be convened by a credible mediator able to act as guarantor of what is agreed, not as a facilitator alone.
Baidoa is still a center of commerce, services, and everyday life for people across South West, including families who have lost homes and livelihoods elsewhere. Many residents have already left for fear of the next attack, but there is still time to reverse that trend, especially in a region that has been a haven for so many. Baidoa should remain a place where people can stay, work, and rebuild their lives, not another place from which they are forced to flee.
Sources
1. Médecins Sans Frontières, “Somalia: Survey of displaced families in Baidoa finds every second child malnourished,” August 11, 2026. https://www.msf.org/somalia-survey-displaced-families-baidoa-finds-every-second-child-malnourished
2. Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development, with IOM DTM, Somalia Durable Solutions Progress (DSP) Survey 2024–2025, Key Findings Factsheets: South-West State (Baidoa, Berdale, Xudur). https://mop.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2025/pdf/DSP_Factsheet_SOUTH-WEST_V2.pdf
3. UNHCR-led Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN), “Flash #12: Over 50,000 people displaced following political escalation in Baidoa, South-West State,” 2026. https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/121816
4. Hiiraan Online, “Southwest President Laftagareen resigns after federal government troops seize Baidoa,” March 2026. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2026/Mar/204781/southwest_president_laftagareen_resigns_after_federal_government_troops_seize_baidoa.aspx
5. Somali Guardian, “Somalia: Laftagaren forces briefly seize Baidoa after gunfight with army,” May 30, 2026. https://www.somaliguardian.com/news/somalia-news/somalia-baidoa-fighting/
6. PRMN, “Flash Alert #21: Clashes in Baidoa displaced more than 14,000 individuals,” September 2026. https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/124034
7. Al Jazeera, “Somali army clashes with local forces for control of Baidoa,” September 28, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/28/somali-army-clashes-with-local-forces-for-control-of-baidoa
Abdirisak Bashir
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