Monday August 11, 2025
Beled Hawo (HOL) — Fierce clashes have broken out between
federal government troops and Jubbaland state forces in a border village near
Beled Hawo, the latest flare-up in Somalia’s volatile Gedo region.
Residents reported sustained gunfire and explosions on
Sunday in Tuulo Aamin, a settlement on the Somalia-Kenya frontier. Local
sources said federal forces launched a planned assault on Jubbaland fighters
who had been massing in the area in recent days.
Both sides were reported to be using heavy and light
weapons, with the sounds of shelling audible from miles away. Casualty figures
remain unclear, and neither the federal government nor the Jubbaland
administration has issued a statement.
The renewed hostilities come just days after federal forces
seized full control of Balad Hawo district, further straining relations between
Mogadishu and the semi-autonomous Jubbaland administration. Each side has
accused the other of provoking the violence.
The Gedo region, a strategic flashpoint along the Kenyan
border, has long been a battleground for competing political and military
interests, with control of key towns frequently shifting between rival forces.
