Somali army clashes with rebel forces for control of key city Baidoa

Somali forces repel rebel fighters in Baidoa after intense fighting involving explosives and dozens of casualties.Somalia’s army has said it has driven opposition fighters out of Baidoa, the largest city in Somalia’s South West State, after hours of heavy fighting.The clashes erupted before dawn on Monday, when fighters loyal to the state’s former president, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, attacked positions held by federal forces, the Defence Ministry said.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why Mogadishu clashes are deepening Somalia’s political crisis againlist 2 of 3Somalia declares order restored after two days of fighting in Mogadishulist 3 of 3Puntland forces seize government-held camp in Somalia’s Galkayoend of listThe ministry added that the assailants used vehicles laden with explosives but were repelled after federal forces killed 30 attackers. It accused Laftagareen’s forces of fighting alongside the al-Qaeda-linked armed group al-Shabab.Earlier, in a Facebook post, Laftagareen’s camp claimed that its forces had captured the city centre.Residents told the AFP news agency that the clashes were the fiercest since the Somalian army took control of the city in March. Doctors Without Borders, which runs facilities in Baidoa, told the agency that several casualties had reached its hospital and fighting had occurred on two fronts.Baidoa lies about 245km (150 miles) northwest of the Somali capital Mogadishu and hosts hundreds of thousands of people displaced by war and climate events.Laftagareen had led South West State for more than seven years when, in March, he severed ties with Mogadishu over controversial constitutional amendments pushed through by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.The changes extended Mohamud’s term in office by a year and drastically altered Somalia’s fragile power-sharing arrangement, enshrined in its 2012 provisional constitution.