The Turkish presence in Somalia... Will it continue under a new regime ?






 At least 15 people were killed in confrontations that took place in the city of Balad Hawa on the eve of January 25, 2021, between the Dervish forces of Jubaland State and the government forces of Gurgur, which receive arming and military training from Turkey.

This step shows the extent of Turkey's involvement in an internal Somali war, which the federal government is trying to portray as a war between two neighboring countries, Kenya and Somalia.

The Turkish presence in Somalia dates back to 2010, when Turkey provided humanitarian aid to Somalia following a drought that claimed the lives of more than a quarter of a million Somalis. However, Turkish aid organizations and bodies that provided humanitarian support to the people were replaced by Turkish giant companies after the end of the drought period. Managing the main port in Mogadishu and Adam Adi International Airport in the capital, Mogadishu, as well as managing health and educational institutions and centers across the country!

The Turkish influence on the Somali situation during the previous decade was limited only to the humanitarian and investment fields. However, it appeared recently that Turkey is seeking to implement a Qatari plan aimed at establishing an authoritarian administrative system in Somalia loyal to the Turkish-Qatari axis.

The Turkish military base in Mogadishu (Turksom) trains two types of highly-trained Somali forces, namely: (Harmad and Gurgor). The first type assumes the functions of the military police, and the second Nog represents part of the Somali armed forces, but it is striking that all these forces receive orders and instructions from The Turkish military leadership is at the Turksom base, and it is also carrying out some politicized and targeted military and security operations for some Somali politicians.

Police forces, numbering between 900 and 1000, are trained at the Turksom base in Mogadishu, and then they are transferred to Turkey to receive further training. They receive weapons and ammunition from Turkey, which is still caring for them now. Although they are police forces, they receive orders directly from President Farmajo!

According to Reuters news agency published last December 2020, Turkey intends to arm Harmad forces of the Somali police by giving them 1,000 machine guns, along with 150,000 bullets, which prompted the Council of Candidates' Union to send on December 16, 2020 a protest letter to The Turkish embassy in Somalia calls for Turkey to postpone its armament plan whenever the 2021 election season ends, for fear that these weapons will be used incorrectly.

The police forces of Hermad are part of the political conflict over the elections. In earlier times, these forces closed the roads leading to and coming from the headquarters of some presidential candidates, according to members of the Council of Candidates' Union.

Gurgur: Special military forces have received high training at the Turkish base in Mogadishu (Turksom). Their number ranges from 4,500 to 5,000 soldiers. They receive arms and ammunition from Turkey and in addition to receiving orders directly from President Farmajo, they also follow the orders of the Turkish officers at the Turksom base In Mogadishu, these forces are stationed in: Mogadishu, Tusmereib, and Balad Hawa, while the Turksom base in Mogadishu is their main and largest base in the country.

The Gurgor military battalion represents part of the political struggle around the upcoming elections, as the federal government has transferred units of this battalion to Gedo province to fight a war against the forces of the Jubaland State Administration and then remove them from large parts of the province and control the positions of the Jubaland forces in the province.

In addition, in early December 2020, the federal government transferred hundreds of Gurgor forces on board 3 aircraft to the city of Tusumareb, the capital of Galmadhu, for reasons related to the upcoming elections, as stated by some state ministers.

All these measures seem to signal the end of the centrist policy that Turkey adopted during the past 10 years in its dealings with the Somali parties, which enabled it to work and coordinate with 3 successive administrative systems to rule Somalia during these years. However, observers are wondering to what extent it is possible for Turkey to continue its activities in Somalia in the event that the current regime fails to return to power, due to the Turks ’involvement in thorny internal issues such as the Tusmarib and Gedo confrontations and the suppression of peaceful demonstrators in Mogadishu.

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