Baidoa 'raid': Why federalism requires discipline in Somalia

President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed "Laftagareen" declared that he recognised only the 2012 Provisional Constitution as Somalia's legitimate constitutional framework. [File, Standard]

When federal troops entered Baidoa in late March, 2026, the move was interpreted in two sharply different ways. Some saw the federal government restoring constitutional order after South West State suspended cooperation with Mogadishu. Others saw it as the centre using force against a regional administration that had rejected constitutional changes.

The sequence matters. In mid-March, South West State suspended cooperation after disputing constitutional amendments. Soon after, President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed "Laftagareen" declared that he recognised only the 2012 Provisional Constitution as Somalia's legitimate constitutional framework. Within days, federal troops entered Baidoa and his administration was removed. Whatever legal arguments are made, the political message was clear: A regional leadership that rejected a contested constitutional order was displaced shortly after doing so.