Turkey said to deploy F-16 jets in Somalia

Turkey has deployed F-16 fighter jets to Somalia, officials tell AFP, as Ankara seeks to expand its military footprint in the Horn of Africa.

Ankara is a key ally of Somalia, providing extensive military and economic support to the country, which has been ravaged by civil war since the early 1990s.

“Turkey has deployed F-16 jets in Somalia,” a government official tells AFP, without giving further details.

A second official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, says the aircraft will be operated by the Turkish contingent stationed in Somalia.

“This is for our own security,” the source said, stressing that the jets would not be flown by Somali personnel.

Turkey opened its largest overseas military base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in 2017.

Ankara maintains a task force and an air component command there “to contribute to the development of Somalia’s counter-terrorism capacity through military assistance, training and advisory activities,” according to the Turkish defense ministry.

The deployment follows Turkey’s condemnation of Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic, calling it “overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs.”