UNHCR: 50,000+ Newly Displaced by Southwest State Clashes

UNHCR confirmed that more than 50,000 civilians had been newly displaced by the armed clashes in Southwest State over the preceding two weeks, as SNA and allied forces advanced toward and ultimately seized Baidoa. The displacement adds to Somalia's existing crisis of approximately 4 million internally displaced persons — already among Africa's largest IDP populations. Multiple international aid organizations suspended operations in Baidoa during the fighting. The simultaneous military seizure and ongoing drought-famine crisis created a compounding humanitarian emergency in Bay and Bakool regions, where food insecurity was already at emergency levels.