Baidoa

So I left up the one yesterday about the two U.S. airstrikes.

Another story that we have, Turkey accused of killing civilians in Baidoa airstrikes.

So this article is from the Somali Guardian.

So the background here, and this is something like...

Nobody's ever heard of – if you don't follow this show or antiwar.com, you're not aware of kind of the conflict that's happening internally in Somalia beyond the fighting with al-Shabaab and everything.

So in Somalia's southwest state – The former president, Abdi Diaz's Hassan Mohammed Laftagarin, so we'll call him Laftagarin for now, he was ousted by the federal government I think a few months ago now, and there's been some sporadic fighting.

And just over the past few days, forces loyal to Laftagarin launched an attack on Baidoa, the capital of the southwest state, to take it back from the federal government forces.

Also from local forces that are loyal to the federal government.

I think this will get people's attention who are unaware that this war is even still happening.

You know, the fact that we have this... major escalation of U S airstrikes that hasn't accomplished anything, by the way, uh, Somalia is, you know, there's much more fighting and violence in Somalia now than there was, um, before these escalations started, because you have all the infighting between the Somali federal government and, uh, in Baidoa, uh, And in southwest Somalia, there's huge clashes happening right now between local forces that aren't al-Shabaab against the federal government forces.

So it's just a mess, and the US just has no business being there.

But the war goes on, and the US is expanding and escalating.

Science reporter Anand Ram has more.

[crowd chatter] A father gently pats the bandaged hand of his child lying on the bed next to him at this treatment center in Baidoa, Somalia.

Getting help for malnutrition is hard enough here [gunshots] as factions within the country continue warring in the city streets.

The worst kind of fear for us is the risk of, uh, famine in, in a few of the districts in Baidoa.

As deputy country director for Save the Children in Somalia, Dr. Binyam Gebru tried to visit Baidoa recently, but the situation was too unstable, and it's where the forecasted super El Niño might bring intense flooding over the next few months.

The first thing is, of course, uh, destruction of houses and, and crops.

That will result in displacement.

That's all it, uh, devolved into.

So 10th Mountain relieved us, and we're getting ready to go, uh, we were told we're going to Baidoa.

Baidoa is further inland.

It's, um, about a hund- at that point, Baidoa, I think it was 110 miles west of Mogadishu, so we're pretty far in country.

And we're s- we're sitting out on the, on the tarmac, the airfield, waiting for the next day.

And Bai- Baladogle is in the, in, it's in the bush, and, uh, obviously we're in Africa, so you got all these creatures and animals out there.

I, I, I, you know, I'm a smartass.

I, name it Two Socks.

It is invading some of the, of the, uh, of the regional governments.

In Baydhabo, they invaded.

In Puntland, they tried.

In Jubaland, they invaded.

Um, so the next one here is, uh, another Somalia story reports of Turkish airstrikes nearby Doha.

So this article is from Garo online, which is a Somali media outlet actually based in Puntland, um, But reports have emerged of new airstrikes allegedly carried out by Turkish aircraft late Saturday on the outskirts of Baidoa, which is the capital of Somalia's southwest state, with casualties reported following the strikes.

The reported strikes come amid escalating fighting between forces aligned with Somalia's federal government and fighters loyal to former southwest state president Abiy Aziz Hassan Mohamed Al-Afta Gharin.

So Turkey's been accused of carrying out these airstrikes.

And this is kind of a big escalation because this is one of the Somali federal government's foreign backers taking their side in these clashes that they've been having with the local government.

Somali governments, which have been happening kind of across Somalia, in Jubaland, in Baidoa, in Putland, and I believe in some other places as well.

So kind of a big escalation.

Turkey hasn't responded to the allegations, but there is protests, anti-Turkey protests across this part of Somalia in the wake of this strike and the accusation.