Turkish interference with Somalia's security and stability

Turkey has been accused by the Somalian opposition of interfering in the country’s electoral process and providing weapons to the armed forces of the president.

Turkey had sent a shipment of weapons and armored vehicles to Somalia with the purpose of arming Turkish-trained special forces. The move would be considered provocative, as the special forces have been known to interfere in the country’s elections on the side of Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.

The candidates said that the sophisticated weapons will be used by the Turkish-trained special forces to control forthcoming elections that have been long postponed as Farmajo had planned to extend his term for an additional two years. The lower house of the Somali parliament rejected that extension on May 2, after Farmajo himself had agreed to the move.

There is no clear indication that Turkey has taken the side of Farmajo in the elections. On the contrary, Turkey’s objectives in Somalia seem to be outside the political process.

The Somali opposition is convinced that Turkey intends to play a full-scale military role in the upcoming elections. The elections are essentially a clash between different clans that has already manifested with violence in April.

With the political, military and economic capital it has poured into Somalia, Turkey’s Islamist government is pursuing a secret agenda to empower a jihadist network and radical Islamist groups in the Horn of Africa.

Now the same mindset can be found in the leadership of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which is rooted in political Islam and supports jihadist groups in countries like Syria and Libya.