Turkey is arming one part of Somalia against the rest

[Deeq A.]

Bayraktar TB2 drones supplied by Turkey could fall into the hands of non-state actors in Somalia.

Mogadishu (Opinion)— Somalia is going through a period of political turbulence. While much attention gets expended on the political disagreements within the executive branch (i.e. the Somalia President and his Prime Minister), the role of Turkey in training and arming Somali forces is the elephant in room.

As a NATO member, Turkey influences the security structure of Somalia to a point of violating the arms embargo on Somalia. Turkey provided the Somali Army with Bayraktar TB2 drone in violation of the arms embargo. Why is Turkey arming one part of Somalia against the rest of the country? The central command of ragtag Somalia army is based in Mogadishu. There is no a consensus on the formation of a national army. That is why the arms embargo is still in place.

Last week, they former Somalia President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed denounced the politicization of the army. “The army was used for political purposes against opponents” Sharif said. He echoed a view expressed by Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni, who said that Villa Somalia “relies on forces such as Haramcad to silence its critics”. Turkey trained more then ten thousand Somali troops, and has a military base in Mogadishu. Its outsized role in the Somali politics unnerves USA, EU and UK.

In my role as a former senior official of the Somalia Defense Ministry, the question of inclusiveness was always set aside partly because of a Villa Somalia agenda to stealthily militarize the federal government. The 2019 security reform in parts of the South gave the Government a carte blanche to portray its policy to rebuild the army as an inclusive undertaking far superior to what other federal member states have achieved so far.

It is an open secret that what we know as Somali Army is made up of clan militias that can easily be persuaded to pledge loyalty to their subclan constituencies. This is the problem we were aware of before a group of Somalia army soldiers mutinied last year. Known as National Salvation this group nearly sparked a civil war in Mogadishu. Added to this is the susceptibility of the army to divided loyalties. The Somalia Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble claimed that the army can no longer take orders from the President following the latter’s suspension of the powers of the Prime Minister after corruption allegations about illegal acquisition of government land surfaced.

Weapons and ammunitions supplied by Turkey are concentrated in Mogadishu. There is an urgent need for weapons audit to put in place contingent plans to prevent weapons and drones falling into hands of non-state actors. Since the Federal Government has no a civilian oversight on the army, a policy to get federal member states involved in mitigating the risks of lopsided army would go a long way to address the national security threats caused by one-sided support for Mogadishu-based forces.

D. M. Ali was a senior Somalia Defense Ministry official 2009-2019.

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