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Somalia
and Turkey
1/1 Somalia’s leaders failed to break a deadlock over the country’s elections .The country is likely to miss the 8 Feb deadline for choosing a new president after days of negotiations between the government and the federal states https://twitter.com/AfrikaElect/status/1358204641398427648
and Turkey1/1 Somalia’s leaders failed to break a deadlock over the country’s elections .The country is likely to miss the 8 Feb deadline for choosing a new president after days of negotiations between the government and the federal states https://twitter.com/AfrikaElect/status/1358204641398427648
2/11 On January 29 Somalia’s international partners released a statement supporting recent political developments. While Qatar is a supporter of Somalia’s political processes it was not in the list. Unsurprisingly, Turkey, an influencer in Somali politics, was.
3/11 Turkey Reaching out to Somalia
Qatar and Turkey have been strong supporters of the current President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed (commonly known as Farmaajo) while the UAE and KSA have backed candidates from the five Federal Member States (FMS) https://africacenter.org/spotlight/2021-elections/
Reaching out to Somalia Qatar and Turkey have been strong supporters of the current President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed (commonly known as Farmaajo) while the UAE and KSA have backed candidates from the five Federal Member States (FMS) https://africacenter.org/spotlight/2021-elections/
4/11 Views on the connection of the current president Farmaajo with Qatar https://twitter.com/adancabdulle/status/1358299838631321603?s=20
5/11 Views on the connection of the current president Farmaajo with Turkey https://twitter.com/SufiAweys/status/1358269080290091015?s=20
6/11 Many of the main candidates vying to replace Farmaajo have worked regional relations into their strategies. One of them, Hassan Ali Khaire, former Prime minister, who was removed in July 2020 as unfit for office, also has support from Turkey and Qatar https://www.theafricareport.com/62733/somalias-delayed-presidential-elections-top-7-issues-to-follow/
7/11 Erdogan has built in Somalia roads, ports, fisheries and the Turkish Airlines make two trips a week to Mogadishu. The funds sent to President Farmaajo are used to train paramilitary groups. https://eeradicalization.com/turkish-ambitions-in-somalia/
8/11 In 2017, Turkey opened its largest military base overseas in Mogadishu Somalia https://twitter.com/0khalodi0/status/1306543625950633985?s=20
9/11 The base aimed at training Somali soldiers and encompasses three schools, dormitories, and arms depots, all manned by Turkish officers and trainers.
A video of the Turkish military base
A video of the Turkish military base
10/11 Turkey plans to drill for oil after Somalia adopted a new petroleum law. Erdogan said that Somalia invited Turkey: "There is oil in our seas. You are carrying these operations with Libya, but you can also do them here. This is very important for us” https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/1/21/erdogan-says-somalia-invited-turkey-to-explore-for-oil-offshore
11/11 Such a Turkish military presence is worrying, given that Somalia has coastal borders with the Gulf of Aden and the strait of Bab al-Mandeb, giving Erdogan easy access the ongoing conflict in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia and the UAE have plenty at stake.
