Turkish Air Force F-16s bombed al-Shabaab militant hideouts in southern Somalia on June 30, killing 35 fighters and woun...

Turkish Air Force F-16s bombed al-Shabaab militant hideouts in southern Somalia on June 30, killing 35 fighters and wounding dozens more near the Ethiopian border. The strikes targeted caves and weapons depots belonging to the al-Qaeda-linked group, which currently controls roughly one third of Somalia. It marks the first official confirmation of Turkish F-16s conducting combat operations on African soil. Turkey has operated its largest overseas military base in Mogadishu since 2017, under a program called "African Eagle." Thousands of Turkish troops are stationed there, training Somali army personnel, while hundreds of Somali officers and special forces soldiers complete additional training inside Turkey each year. Turkish companies also manage Mogadishu's port and airport. The military footprint is backed by sweeping economic agreements. Turkey holds exclusive rights to explore and extract oil and natural gas within Somalia's exclusive economic zone, and Ankara has plans on the table to build a spaceport in Mogadishu. Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said just days ago that multiple African countries are now requesting the same arrangement Turkey has in Somalia, and that those requests are being evaluated. The Somalia operation also puts Turkey on a collision course with Israel, which recently became the first country to formally recognize the breakaway coastal region of Somaliland. Somaliland sits at a strategically critical position on the Gulf of Aden, directly across from Yemen and the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Somalia considers Somaliland an integral part of its territory, and Turkey's Erdogan reaffirmed support for Somali sovereignty during a visit from Somali President Hassan Mohamud in Istanbul in mid-April. All of this is happening one week before the NATO summit in Ankara, which Erdogan is expected to use to further project Turkey's image as a dominant regional power. The Somalia strikes, officially announced in Mogadishu on June 30, are the first combat confirmation of Turkish jets operating in Africa. #Turkey #Somalia #Africa