# Turkey is building a new deadlier Somali Army

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2022/05/turkey-is-building-a-new-deadlier-somali-army/
- Published: 2022-05-24T11:52:33+01:00
- Author: Military Africa

Decades of war and strife have left Somalia’s formal economy and infrastructure,
with the country divided into areas under the rule of various entities, and the 
population on the verge of famine as a result of the global climate change.

The humanitarian crisis in Somalia is considered one of the most complex in the 
world. The country is experiencing both armed conflict and worsening climatic crises,
a combination that has fuelled massive displacements, both within Somalia and across
its borders.
Somalia has experienced armed conflict for nearly three decades.

In recent years, non-state and sub-state armed groups have carried out bombings,
suicide attacks, armed assaults, and kidnappings. At the same time, military operations
have resulted in the sporadic death, injury, and displacement of civilian populations.

In response, the international community’s political and security intervention in
Somalia over the last decade and a half has been mostly focused on two key areas;

First, the international community supported reconciliation and state-building efforts,
aimed at achieving a political settlement among competing political elites and establishing
legitimate federal and state government authority.

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Secondly, an African Union (AU) and internationally-backed military offensive aimed
at weakening al-Shabaab and other militant Islamist groups and transferring territorial
control to legitimate government authorities.

In this context, Somalia has successfully transitioned from being a ‘failed’ to 
a ‘fragile’ state, albeit slowly and painstakingly. Nevertheless, significant progress
has been made in establishing federal and state institutions, although the political
transition is still underway.

This May, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud became the first person to be elected president 
twice in Somalia’s nascent democracy after a landslide victory against the incumbent
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.

Somalia remains, however, an extremely fragile political and security environment.
Although al-Shabaab, the main non-state armed group in the country has been substantially
weakened, it still retains control in large areas of central and southern Somalia
and is capable of carrying out terrorist attacks.

Despite progress in building Somalia’s security architecture, the government continues
to depend heavily on AU and other international forces to maintain security.

Also, the country’s political landscape is still fragile, and the relationship between
the federal government and federal member states remains unresolved. Furthermore,
government infrastructure, institutions, and services are still in their infancy,
and international agencies continue to provide many basic services.

With the country’s location in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean vital to global
trade, essential institutions such as the military and civil service are strong 
and credible.

Although substantially weakened, al-Shabaab retains control of many rural areas 
in southern Somalia and is still a credible threat. The group continues to launch
terrorist attacks within Somalia and surrounding countries, including truck bombings
in Mogadishu in 2017 and 2019, an attack on a Nairobi hotel in 2019, and hundreds
of improvised explosive attacks targeting civilians within Somalia.

Also, other militant groups are still present in the area, and continually challenge
state authority and pose a security risk. One of such is Abnaa ul-Calipha (Islamic
State in Somalia) splintered from al-Shabaab in 2015 and was recognized as an official
province by the Islamic State in 2017. The group which has an estimated 300 to 500
active fighters operate primarily in Mogadishu the capital, and in the Puntland.
IS in Somalia are. continually engaged in frequent clashes with al-Shabaab.

In 2017 and 2019 the UN Security Council withdrew about one thousand soldiers attached
to the African Union intervention forces, as part of a transition of security responsibilities
to the Somali government. With hopes that Somali forces can handle the country’s
security by 2021.

However, Turkey, the US, British, and AU forces continue to support the Somali National
Army to combat al-Shabaab and other Islamist militant groups and capture territory
controlled by them, by providing training, equipment, and intelligence services,
and sometimes [air support](https://www.military.africa/2021/03/german-p-3c-orion-mpra-exits-horn-of-africa-after-13-years-of-fighting-pirates).

Thus, today, the Somali military and civil service are now relying on this assistance
particularly the support of Ankara, as the country lays a new foundation for its
military capabilities.

In 2017, Turkey [established and has continued to maintain a training facility in Mogadishu](https://www.military.africa/2017/08/turkish-military-to-open-new-military-base-in-somalia)
called “TURKSOM” where regular deliveries of equipment and small arms have been 
issued to Somalian cadets.

The base commenced operations in September 2017 in the capital Mogadishu, which 
is Turkey’s largest oversea base in history. The construction of the base cost about
USD 50 million and can train more than 500 soldiers at a time.

A separate training program for Somali law enforcement also includes complete armament
and kit supplied by Turkey.

Last year, the Turkish army [began providing commando and counter-terrorism training to 150 Somali National Army soldiers](https://www.military.africa/2021/01/150-somali-special-forces-training-in-turkey)
in terms of the defence and security cooperation agreement between Ankara and Mogadishu.
Turkey has trained at least four SNA battalions which translates to at least 2000
men. Turkey has committed itself to train and equipping at least 5000 special forces
to strengthen the 16 000-men strong SNA.

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Turkey is reconstituting the Somali National Army (SNA) the usual cheap small arms
and pickup trucks. Ankara has supplied the SNA with Turkish-made MPT-76 battle rifle,
the H&K G3 battle rifle (probably the Turkish MKEK variant), and the M2 Browning
heavy machine gun.

The MPT-76 is the new standard rifle of the Turkish army with production shared 
between the state-owned manufacturer MKEK and other privately-owned enterprises.
It’s an AR-pattern small arm chambered for 7.62x51mm ammunition and fed by a polymer
box magazine.

Aside from basic infantry small arms Turkish armored vehicles have also been supplied
to Somalia. Ankara delivered hundreds of its [indigenous Kirpi armored vehicle and utility trucks to Somalia](https://www.military.africa/2020/08/turkey-donates-kirpi-armored-vehicle-and-utility-trucks-to-somalia)
as part of bilateral military and financial cooperation agreements. [The Kirpi vehicles were Somalia’s first armored vehicles.](https://www.military.africa/2021/08/turkey-donates-additional-kirpi-mraps-military-trucks-to-somalia)

> [Turkey donates additional Kirpi MRAPs, military trucks to Somalia](https://www.military.africa/2021/08/turkey-donates-additional-kirpi-mraps-military-trucks-to-somalia/)

These activities are part of Turkey’s drive to increase its influence in the region
dominated by the United States and China.

And Somalia could become a solid prospect for Turkey’s defence industry in the future,
rivaling the United States and China. Likewise, following Somalia’s invitation to
Turkey to explore for oil in its seas last October, Recep Tayyip has set his sight
on the Horn of Africa, hoping to benefit from Somalia’s potential energy reserves.

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