Security forces
Turkey's military in Somalia: Camp TURKSOM, drones and the sea pact
Turkey opened Camp TURKSOM, its largest military training base abroad, in Mogadishu on 30 September 2017. Reported to have cost about US$50 million, it trains Somali officers, NCOs and the Gorgor infantry battalions. Turkey has flown armed drones from Mogadishu since December 2021. In February 2024 the two countries signed a 10-year defence and economic agreement under which Turkey is to build and train a Somali navy. Turkey's parliament authorised troops on Somali land and in its waters from July 2024, and Turkish ships began oil drilling off Somalia in April 2026.
In short
Since 2017 Turkey has become one of the largest foreign military partners of the federal government. This page covers its military role: the base, training, aircraft, the 2024 defence agreement and Turkish forces' mandate. It is part of Foreign forces in Somalia.
Camp TURKSOM, 2017
Turkey opened the base on 30 September 2017 at Jaziira, on the coast at the southern edge of Mogadishu. It covers about 4 square kilometres, with three residential blocks and training grounds, and took about two years to build. Somalia's defence ministry said more than 200 Turkish military staff would train about 1,500 Somali soldiers at a time. Turkey's chief of general staff, Hulusi Akar, said Turkey would support Somalia "until their country becomes militarily stronger", and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire called it "a concrete step" towards an integrated national army (Voice of America, 30 September 2017). Al Jazeera reported that it cost a reported US$50 million and was meant to train 10,000 soldiers; Akar called it "the largest training base of its kind outside of Turkey" (Al Jazeera, 1 October 2017).
What it trains
- Officers and NCOs. Officer courses last two years and NCO courses one year (Wikipedia, citing Military Africa).
- Gorgor battalions. The first Gorgor ("eagle") infantry battalion graduated on 18 April 2019; nine had been trained by June 2023. About 5,000 Somali trainees had passed through by 2023, according to Anadolu Agency (Wikipedia, Camp TURKSOM). VOA described the Gorgor as "commandos" trained in their thousands (VOA, 21 February 2024).
See Somali National Army.
Drones and aircraft
The UN Panel of Experts reported that Bayraktar TB-2 armed drones were delivered to Mogadishu on 6 December 2021 by two Turkish Air Force A400M aircraft. Turkey told the Panel the drones were assigned to Turkey's own counter-terrorism work in Somalia, not given to Somalia. The Panel said the delivery was "not compliant with the arms embargo" and noted that Turkey had never publicly reported any air strikes in Somalia (UN Panel of Experts, S/2022/754, para. 96). Two Akinci drones followed in 2025, and six T129 attack helicopters arrived in March and June 2025; Turkish officials said the helicopters stayed under Turkish control (Wikipedia, Somali Air Force, citing Garowe Online). See Somali Air Force.
The 2024 defence and economic agreement
Somalia's defence minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur and Turkey's Yaşar Güler signed a 10-year Defence and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement in Turkey on 8 February 2024. Somalia's parliament endorsed it by 213 votes to 3. Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said Turkey would build, train and equip a Somali navy against terrorism, piracy, illegal fishing and toxic dumping. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said: "We asked for the support not to fight Ethiopia or invade another country" (VOA, 21 February 2024). The deal followed Ethiopia's January 2024 memorandum of understanding with Somaliland. See Somali Navy.
Turkish forces' mandate
On 27 July 2024 Turkey's parliament approved deploying Turkish armed forces to Somalia, on land and in its waters, for two years (Africanews, 28 July 2024). In July 2026 it extended the mandate from 27 July 2026 to July 2028, at Somalia's request; the motion left troop numbers and equipment to the president, and some opposition parties asked for the numbers and cost to be disclosed (Dawan Africa, 22 July 2026).
Oil and the sea
Turkey's seismic ship Oruç Reis surveyed Somali waters from late 2024. The drilling ship Çağrı Bey reached Mogadishu in April 2026 to drill the Curad-1 well, about 372 km offshore. Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi called it "a historic day" (Dawan Africa, 10 April 2026).
Sources differ
- Capacity of the base. About 1,500 trainees at a time (VOA, Al Jazeera) or about 1,000 (Reuters, as cited by Wikipedia).
- Turkish staff. More than 200 in 2017 (VOA); more than 300 later (Wikipedia).
- Revenue terms. Some reports said Turkey would receive 30 per cent of revenue from Somalia's exclusive economic zone; the agreement's text has not been published.
- Who controls the aircraft. Turkey says the drones and helicopters are its own; Somali officials have described their use in operations against al-Shabaab.
Read the primary sources yourself
Sources
- Voice of America, 30 September 2017 · voanews.com
- Al Jazeera, 1 October 2017 · aljazeera.com
- VOA, 21 February 2024 · voanews.com
- UN Panel of Experts, S/2022/754, para. 96 · documents.un.org
- Wikipedia, Somali Air Force · en.wikipedia.org
- Africanews, 28 July 2024 · africanews.com
- Dawan Africa, 22 July 2026 · dawan.africa
- Dawan Africa, 10 April 2026 · dawan.africa
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