Tuesday 31 March 2026 {HMC} Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen resigned Monday, hours after federal government troops and armed groups aligned with regional opposition figures entered Baidoa following heavy fighting that left at least two people dead and 25 wounded.
“Effective today, March 30, 2026, I, Mr. Abdicasiis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, resign as President of the Southwest State,” Laftagareen wrote on his official Facebook page, without elaborating on the reasons for his decision.
Shortly after the announcement, Southwest’s finance minister, Ahmed Mohamed Hussein, was named acting president. No further details were provided regarding the transition of power.
Federal government troops, backed by armed groups opposed to Laftagareen, took control of Baidoa on Monday after intense clashes with regional administration forces. Fighting erupted on the outskirts of the city before spreading into residential neighborhoods.
Medical officials said at least two people were killed and 25 others injured. A doctor at Bay Regional General Hospital, speaking to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said 25 people with gunshot and blast injuries were admitted, five of them in critical condition. Two additional patients were brought in with gunshot wounds.
An official casualty toll and assessment of property damage have not yet been released.
Reports indicate that Laftagareen and federal authorities reached an agreement for a transfer of power that would allow him to leave Baidoa safely, although his destination remains unclear.
The resignation comes just two days after the Southwest regional parliament re-elected Laftagareen as president for another term, a result immediately rejected by the federal government.
The political standoff between Mogadishu and Southwest State has intensified in recent weeks, centered on constitutional amendments approved by Somalia’s federal parliament extending the mandates of federal institutions from four to five years.
The revisions have been rejected by several federal member states and opposition groups, who argue they lack consensus and threaten Somalia’s fragile federal framework.
Monday’s developments mark one of the most dramatic escalations in the dispute, raising fresh concerns about stability in a region already strained by political divisions and insecurity.
