| Siege of Baidoa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War in Somalia | |||||||
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Al-Shabaab |  Somalia (Transitional Federal Government) Ethiopia | ||||||
The siege of Baidoa was a military confrontation lasting from July 2008 to January 2009 during the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, during which al-Shabaab laid siege to the headquarters of the Ethiopian backed Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
During January 2009, the first TFG collapsed and Al-Shabaab overran the seat of the government in Baidoa. [1]
A year after Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia, the insurgency fighting against the military occupation intensified pressure on Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) troops in the Bay region. [2] Despite capturing Mogadishu from the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) at the end of 2006, many TFG ministers opted to stay in Baidoa, the provisional capital in Bay, due to the insurgency's growing threat. [3] By mid-2008, Al-Shabaab, ICU loyalists, and supporters of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) emerged as the main insurgent forces across Somalia. [4] The Mogadishu-Afgooye-Baidoa highway became a key insurgency hotspot, with escalating attacks around Baidoa city as well. [5]
On July 8, 2008, al-Shabaab launched a midnight attack on Baidoa's presidential palace, airport and parliament with rockets and mortars, killing 11 soldiers [6] [7] in the encircled and vulnerable de facto capital of the Transitional Government. Baidoa Airport is considered the lifeline for the city. In the tense situation, Baidoa police opened fire on a bus that refused to stop for them, killing many on board. TFG police were known to extort money from travelers at roadblocks, and this was likely an unrelated incident. [8]
On July 9, islamists seized a large shipment of Ethiopian arms and military vehicles from an armored convoy heading from Baledogle Airfield to Baidoa meant for the TFG military. [9] Three Islamists were killed in the battle, as well as one confirmed government soldier dead. [10] The convoy was attacked a second time in Wanla Weyne before finally reaching Baidoa. [11]
On July 10, Islamists seized the control of Deynunay town, located 20 km south of Baidoa, killing one government soldier, a spokesman said. [12]
Fierce fighting near Daynunay continued for a second day on July 11 as Islamist and TFG forces battled; three TFG soldiers were killed in the battle. [13]
On July 13, al-Shabaab forces regrouped and reoccupied Bardhere and Burhakaba, mustering forces in these two towns en route to Baidoa, as TFG presence in these towns had long since been expelled. [14] The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), an organisation with many years of experience in Somalia, withdrew from Baidoa due to the imminent attack. [15]
On August 27, a bombing attack in the city left the son of a Somali MP dead along with one of his bodyguards. [16]
On September 5, Islamist fighters attacked an Ethiopian Army convoy that recently left the city in the town of Bardale, 55 kilometers southwest of Baidoa. Two Ethiopian soldiers, two insurgents and one civilian were killed in the attack and one Ethiopian Army truck was burned. [17] Two days later on September 7, insurgents attacked a police station in the city but there were no casualties. [18]
On September 20, heavy fighting between Somali government troops and the insurgents killed at least two soldiers, three insurgents and one civilian in the city when a government checkpoint was attacked. [19] [20]
On October 2, three separate insurgent attacks in the town killed two civilians and one soldier. [21] On October 13, more heavy fighting resulted in the deaths of four insurgents and two Ethiopian soldiers after an Ethiopian Army convoy, heading into Baidoa, was ambushed. [22]
On December 24, a landmine killed three policemen in the city. [23]
On January 26, 2009, Islamist forces captured Baidoa, which was by this point the last major city controlled by the Transitional Government. The city's capture came after Ethiopian troops completely pulled out of the country only a day prior. Pro-government and anti-Islamist forces remained in control of a corridor of territory along the border with Ethiopia, and most of Gedo and Bakool. Somali MP Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade and his troops, along with ten other MP's, surrendered to Islamist forces as they entered Baidoa. During the takeover, government troops and militiamen attempted to resist, resulting in fighting that left five civilians and four soldiers dead but were not able to stop the insurgent advance. [24] [25]
The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Somalia from 14 October 2004 until 20 August 2012, when its tenure officially ended and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) was inaugurated.
The Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, also known as the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia or the Ethiopian intervention in the Somali Civil War, was an armed conflict that lasted from late 2006 to early 2009. It began when military forces from Ethiopia, supported by the United States, invaded Somalia to depose the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and install the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The conflict continued after the invasion when an anti-Ethiopian insurgency emerged and rapidly escalated. During 2007 and 2008, the insurgency recaptured the majority of territory lost by the ICU.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a Multinational force formed by the African Union. The operation deployed to Somalia soon after the Islamic Courts Union was deposed by troops from Ethiopia during a large scale invasion in late 2006. The missions primary objective was to maintain the regime change between the ICU and the newly installed Transitional Federal Government, implement a national security plan and train the TFG security forces. As part of its duties, AMISOM later supported the Federal Government of Somalia in its war against Al-Shabaab. AMISOM was the most deadly peacekeeping operation in the post-war era.
The 2006 Islamic Courts Union offensive is the period in the Somali Civil War that began in May 2006 with the Islamic Courts Union's (ICU) conquest of Mogadishu from the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) and continued with further ICU expansion in the country. Following the outbreak of the war on December 21, 2006; by December 24, direct Ethiopian intervention in the conflict in support of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was no longer denied by the Ethiopian government. The Eritrean government denied any involvement despite Ethiopian claims to the contrary.
The Battle of Baidoa began on 20 December 2006 when the Somali transitional federal government forces (TFG) allied with Ethiopian forces stationed there attacked advancing Islamic Courts Union (ICU) forces along with 500 alleged Eritrean troops and mujahideen arrayed against them.
Yusuf Mohammed Siad Indhacade, aka "Inda'ade" is a Somali former Minister. In 2011 he was a General in the Somali National Army. He hails from the Ayr sub-clan, part of the Habar Gidir, which is a branch of the Hawiye clan. For a short period he was Somali Minister of Defence (Somalia).
The timeline of events in the War in Somalia during 2006 is set out below.
The timeline of events in the War in Somalia during 2007 is set out below.
The Battle of Beledweyne took place in July 2008. It began on July 1, when Islamic militants from al-Shabaab attacked Ethiopian soldiers in the town of Beledweyne, Somalia, which was defended by a garrison of Ethiopian troops.
The 2009 timeline of events in the Somalia War (2006–2009) during January 2009 is set out below. From the beginning of February the timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present) is set out following the conclusion of the previous phase of the civil war.
The Somali Civil War (2009–present) is the ongoing phase of the Somali Civil War which is concentrated in southern and central Somalia. It began in late January 2009 with the present conflict mainly between the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops and al-Shabaab militants who pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda during 2012.
A series of battles in Hiraan, Shabeellaha Dhexe and Galgudug, between rebels of al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam and Somali government forces and ICU militants loyal to the government, erupted during spring 2009. The fighting led to al-Shabaab capturing major government strongholds and Ethiopian forces re-entering Somalia and setting up bases in Hiraan. There was a halt in fighting during a government offensive in Mogadishu, which started on May 22.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2010–11) began on 23 August 2010 when al-Shabaab insurgents began attacking government and African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) positions in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab began its offensive after its spokesman said the group was declaring a "massive war" on troops sent by AMISOM, describing its 6,000 peacekeepers as "invaders". In December 2010 the number of AMISOM troops was increased to 8,000 and later to 9,000. The battle's name usually includes the years, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
This is a 2011 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
Operation Linda Nchi was the Kenya Defence Forces' invasion of southern Somalia beginning in 2011. The Kenyan government declared the operation completed in March 2012, but its forces then joined AMISOM in Somalia.
This is a 2012 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2014 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2013 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2010 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2016 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
this week, the transitional government collapsed completely. A group of radical Islamist fighters overran the seat of government in the town of Baidoa
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