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2026-10-01 Africa Horn
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Turkey, now a major power in Somalia, dragged into internal conflicts
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Good. May their economy drown from it. [GaroweOnline] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
has poured huge sums into making Somalia one of its main foreign outposts but is being sucked into the country’s violent mostly peaceful political battles, risking the goodwill it has built.
Ottoman Turkish F-16s fired missiles around Baidoa, a city in southern Somalia, on Monday as they helped federal troops fight off an attack by forces loyal to an ousted governor.
Turkey was also accused of an Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM! ...
on September 3 that injured opposition leader General Mahad Abdirahman in the southern town of Doolow, though the government claimed he was hurt by explosives "being prepared inside the house".
That incident sparked rare anti-Turkey protests in the region, with some burning its flag and desecrating images of Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
 ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
"Turkey is a new colonial power that is occupying Somalia and is killing Somali people," district commissioner Omar Abdullahi told a crowd of protesters in nearby Afmadow.
"From today onwards, are we not at war with Turkey?"
HUGE INVESTMENT
While several Western countries have grown tired of funding a country in perpetual conflict, Turkey established its biggest overseas military base in Somalia.
It is also building a spaceport on the Somali coast dedicated to launches and satellite technologies, as well as exploring for oil.
The Turks have trained Somali troops, provided aid during droughts, floods and famines, and helped transform the capital, Mogadishu, with new roads and solar streetlights, while its companies run the city’s airport and seaport.
Diplomats in Mogadishu jokingly complain of being awoken by the roar of the three Ottoman Turkish F-16s.
Many Somalis are grateful — particularly as Washington has cut vital aid needed for the fight against the Al Qaeda-linked holy warrior group, al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
that controls swathes of the country.
But opposition parties say Ottoman Turkish military training, vehicles, and drones — originally meant to battle al-Shabaab — are being used against them and their militias, including during political festivities in Mogadishu in June.
Unexpectedly. Somalia is in a deep political crisis after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pushed through unpopular reforms that included extending his mandate for a year, and the opposition met with Ottoman Turkish diplomats to warn against taking sides.
’PERFECT COOPERATION’
Ottoman Turkish construction work is pressing ahead regardless.
The first phase of the spaceport at Warsheikh, around about 70 kilometres (40 miles) north of Mogadishu, is due to be completed soon, a local official said on condition of anonymity.
Turkey is in Somalia for the long-term and its interests go far beyond the current government.
"A succession of presidents and politicians has held office, and we have worked in perfect cooperation with these successive leaders," said a senior Ottoman Turkish official working on the Somalia file.
"All political actors in Somalia know that Turkey’s support is intended for the Somali people and for Somalia, not for any specific political line," he added.
This was supported by a Western diplomat based in Mogadishu.
"Turkey is a highly sophisticated actor and will support whoever best secures those interests," he told AFP.
’DISINFORMATION’
The Somali government says the opposition is using "disinformation" to malign the relationship with Turkey.
"It was shameful to see the Ottoman Turkish flag being burned on Somali soil," said parliament speaker Abdulkadir Mohammed Nur at an event to commemorate the partnership on September 9.
Somali MP Amina Mohammed Mursal told AFP that the Turks "are our brothers and sisters... They came to our aid during difficult times."
Some ordinary Somalis are still wary.
"Turkey can no longer be seen as a neutral partner... Its backing of the federal government’s leadership is deepening political divisions and fuelling our resentment," Mogadishu resident Dahir Ahmed told AFP.
"Many people now openly criticise Turkey — a marked change from the widespread support it enjoyed when it first became involved in Somalia," added Shueyb Yare, a businessman from the diaspora.
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Posted by trailing wife 2026-10-01 00:00||
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