Turkiye doubles number of troops in Somalia to help counter Al-Shabab offensive

Turkiye has doubled its number of troops in Somalia this week, in an effort to assist Somali forces in countering the Al-Shabab militant group.

In recent months, Al-Shabab has advanced in its offensive against the Somali government, with the group having captured strategic villages and areas in close proximity to the capital Mogadishu. Those developments have reportedly caused Turkiye – a key ally and security guarantor of Somalia’s government – to grow increasingly concerned over the country’s security situation.

According to the London-based news outlet Middle East Eye, unnamed sources familiar with the matter revealed to it that Turkiye has responded to the situation by deploying almost 500 soldiers to Somalia this week, almost doubling the number of its military personnel stationed in the east African nation.

The Turkish troops deployed to Somalia reportedly consist of around 300 commandos, one of the sources said, with their main assignments being to protect Turkish facilities such as the military base ‘Turksom’, to protect Mogadishu’s ports, and to assist in further training Somali forces.

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In addition to that, 200 Turkish military personnel have reportedly been sent to enhance combat drone operations, which have proven effective in strikes against the terror group.

Although Turkiye continues to provide support to the Somali state and military, that is restricted to supplies, training, and technology, with one source stating that Ankara does not currently plan to directly engage Al-Shabab on the ground, especially as doing so would first require authorisation from the Turkish parliament.

“The Turkish troops are there solely to protect Turkish assets and to train and advise Somali forces”, the report cited the source as saying. “They will only engage Al-Shabab if absolutely necessary and in self-defence”.