Qansaxdheere ,, Somalia — October 8, 2026 — Darawish forces loyal to former Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen took control of Qansax Dheere on Thursday morning, according to a spokesman for his administration, who presented the advance as the first district captured in a wider campaign.
Mohamed Hussein Joon, spokesman for the Southwest State administration aligned with Laftagareen, said the troops entered the town and assumed control. He described the development as Qansax Dheere’s return to the authority of the administration he represents.
The announcement extended the camp’s stated campaign beyond its objective of taking Baidoa, Southwest State’s interim capital. Joon called on residents of other districts to prepare to receive forces and officials aligned with Laftagareen.
He also said the administration expected to announce the capture of Baidoa in the coming days, setting out its next declared objective after the reported takeover of Qansax Dheere.
Joon thanked residents and local officials for what he described as a warm welcome for the arriving troops. His statement credited the community’s reception as part of the forces’ entry into the town.
Soldiers, commanders and accompanying officials would work to restore governance and public confidence, he said. The announcement therefore linked the military presence to plans for an administration operating under Laftagareen’s authority.
The spokesman described a deployment involving both security personnel and civilian officials. His account placed responsibility for the next stage with those who had arrived in the district, including the commanders overseeing the troops.
Joon’s appeal to communities elsewhere in Southwest State widened the scope of the announcement. He asked residents to prepare for similar arrivals, presenting Qansax Dheere as the opening district-level advance in the campaign outlined in his statement.
The statement did not specify the number of troops involved, identify the officials accompanying them or describe the circumstances in which the previous forces relinquished control. It also provided no casualty figures.
According to Joon’s account, the forces were in control following their arrival on Thursday morning. The administrative work he described remained a stated commitment by the incoming troops and officials.
Qansax Dheere is one of Bay region’s four districts, alongside Baidoa, Buurhakaba and Diinsoor. Baidoa is both the regional capital and the de facto seat of Southwest State’s administration, giving the two locations distinct roles in the struggle over regional authority.
The district has already featured in this year’s confrontation between Laftagareen’s supporters and opposing forces. On March 14, Radio Jowhar reported that fighters identifying themselves as the Southwest Salvation forces took Qansax Dheere after fighting troops loyal to his administration.
That report described residents leaving their homes amid fears of further clashes. The earlier fighting provides the background to Joon’s description of Thursday’s entry as a return to the district, rather than the establishment of an entirely new presence there.
The confrontation subsequently reached Baidoa. Federal troops took control of the city on March 30, and Laftagareen announced his resignation after his administration had severed relations with Mogadishu. The rupture followed disagreements over constitutional changes and the distribution of political power between federal and regional authorities.
Military alignments continued to shift after the March takeover. On May 21, Baidoa Online reported that a Darwish commander from Qansax Dheere and troops under his command had joined Laftagareen-aligned forces on the outskirts of Baidoa.
The report, which cited local sources, said officials supporting the former regional president received the commander and his soldiers. It placed personnel from Qansax Dheere within the wider mobilisation around Laftagareen months before Thursday’s announcement.
Those earlier movements connected the district’s security forces to the campaign around Baidoa. Thursday’s statement concerns territorial control of Qansax Dheere itself, adding a district administration to the objectives outlined by Laftagareen’s camp.
Baidoa saw renewed heavy fighting on August 17, when federal soldiers fought forces loyal to Laftagareen. Federal troops drove the opposition fighters out after hours of clashes, according to residents cited by Reuters.
The fighting demonstrated that the March change of control had not ended the armed confrontation. It also established the immediate background to the renewed pledge by Laftagareen’s spokesman to take the city.
Another confrontation broke out on Baidoa’s outskirts on September 3. The Associated Press reported fighting between government forces and militias aligned with Laftagareen, with shooting subsiding by early afternoon.
Bay Regional Hospital treated 71 wounded people, including 15 women, and reported one civilian death. Those casualties underscored the consequences for residents when the political struggle developed into fighting in and around populated areas.
Thursday’s announcement now places Qansax Dheere at the centre of the camp’s account of its latest operations. Joon framed the district’s reported capture as an administrative advance as well as a military one, pairing the presence of troops with a promise to restore governance.
The significance of that promise lies in the administration’s stated intention to exercise authority through local officials. Establishing a functioning district administration would give practical effect to the control Joon announced and provide a base for the political role his camp is seeking.
His accompanying message about Baidoa raises the stakes of the announcement. Following the earlier battles for the city, a renewed attempt to take it could bring another confrontation around Southwest State’s administrative seat. Joon’s statement offered a timetable measured in days, but gave no operational details.