MOGADISHU, Somalia The Turkish government donates armored anti-mine vehicles to the Somali National Army [SNA] with the aim of helping in the fight against the AlShabaab fighters who live on the Horn of Africa devastates.
AlShabaab tries to overthrow the fragile Somali government with UN support, but has faced stiff resistance for years from an organized army, mainly foreign troops, serving the African Union mission in Somalia.
[AMISOM]. Hassan Ali Mohamed, Somalia’s Defense Minister, and General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, Chief of the Armed Forces, accepted the donations and praised the Turkish government, which is also an important partner for Somalia’s security.
The Turkish ambassador to Somalia, Mahmet Yilmaz, and other government representatives were present at the handover. Turkey not only supports Somalia with such donations, but also trains elite soldiers from Gorgor and police officers from Haramcad.
General Odawa Yusuf Rageh thanked the Turkish government for its crucial role in revitalizing the country’s armed forces. According to him, the army’s vehicles will allow access to parts of the country where AlShabaab controls.
“I thank the Turkish government for the new armored personnel carriers and their continued support,” said General Odawa.
“The mine-resistant armored personnel carriers for the Gorgor commandos were donated by the Turkish government. These were given to the Ministry of Defense together with the head of the Somali National Armed Forces, General Odowaa Yusuf Rage,” said the SNA in a Twitter post.
Turkish Ambassador Mahmet Yilmaz said Turkey would continue to support Somalia. According to him, after years of instability and terror, Ankara wants a stable government in Mogadishu.
The Turkish government was able to concentrate on the development and construction in Somalia without getting into direct conflicts with other states in the region. This is in contrast to the United Arab Emirates [UAE] and Qatar.
Turkey has also built the largest army in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, which Turkish officials say has the capacity to train at least 1,500 soldiers at a time. Last week the Somali National Army announced the killing of 279 Al-Shabaab fighters in Lower Shabelle. According to the military, progress has been made in the past two months.
AXADLETM
