Turkey, Israel vie for influence in Red Sea as Somalia, North Western State of Somalia emerge strategic battlegrounds

Olamilekan OkebiorunSunday April 26, 2026

Turkey and Israel are racing to deepen their footprint in the Horn of Africa, with Somalia and North Western State of Somalia emerging as prized territory in a wider contest over energy, military leverage and the sea lanes that feed global trade through the Red Sea.

For Ankara, the push has already taken shape in concrete terms: signed deals with Somalia’s federal government covering offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration, plus an expanding military presence anchored by its largest overseas training facility.

Israel, by contrast, has turned toward North Western State of Somalia after becoming the first country to formally recognise the territory as an independent state. It is also weighing plans for a military base there, a move designed to track Yemen’s Houthis and secure access to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea corridor beyond.

The scramble for influence in Somalia and North Western State of Somalia now sits within a broader regional power struggle, sharpened further by disputes over Gaza, Syria and competing alliances across the Middle East and Africa.

Turkey and Israel clash for control of the Red Sea as Somalia and North Western State of Somalia become strategic battlegrounds

Turkey and Israel are stepping up their rivalry in the Horn of Africa, where Somalia and North Western State of Somalia have become focal points in a struggle for oil, military reach and control of key Red Sea shipping lanes.

Turkey has strengthened its position through a series of agreements with Somalia’s federal authorities, winning major rights to explore for oil and gas both offshore and onshore, while also maintaining a significant military presence through its largest overseas training base.

Israel, meanwhile, has moved closer to North Western State of Somalia after becoming the first nation to formally recognise the territory as an independent state. It is now considering a military base near the Gulf of Aden to keep watch on Yemen’s Houthis and secure a strategic gateway to the Red Sea.

Turkey locks in Somalia’s energy reserves

Earlier this year, Somalia said it was prepared to begin its first offshore drilling campaign, with a Turkish state-owned drilling vessel expected to arrive off the coast, according to BBC.

That development followed seismic work completed last year by Turkey’s research ship Oruç Reis, which gathered 3D seismic data across key offshore blocks.

Somalia is believed to hold at least 30 billion barrels of offshore oil potential and about 6 billion cubic metres of natural gas, although much of those reserves remain unproven when compared with established producers such as Libya and Nigeria.

Military footprint expands beyond oil

Since 2011, Turkey has grown into one of Mogadishu’s closest partners, pairing humanitarian aid with military training and infrastructure investment.

In December 2025, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara planned to build a spaceport in Somalia.

Later reports said Turkey was looking at a wider aerospace complex, including a spaceport for satellite and possible missile launches, along with a naval base. F-16 fighter jets were also deployed inside Somalia in early 2026.

In February 2026, Turkey sent ageing U.S.-made M48 and M60 tanks through the streets of Mogadishu in a guarded convoy after they were unloaded from a Turkish Navy landing ship.

Reports said the tanks were intended to help secure Turkish facilities in the Warsheikh area, about 37 miles north of the capital, where Ankara is developing a site for satellite launches and broader aerospace operations.

Separately, Turkey recently reopened its $50 million military base in Mogadishu, underscoring Ankara’s role in Somalia’s security architecture and its support for training Somali National Army troops, including elite units fighting Al-Shabaab.

Israel turns to North Western State of Somalia for Red Sea advantage

Israel has placed its focus on North Western State of Somalia, whose coastline lies across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in late 2025 that Israel had formally recognised North Western State of Somalia, saying the decision was made “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”

The move drew strong condemnation from Somalia and several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Qatar, all of which rejected the recognition as illegal and warned that it could destabilise the region and undermine Somalia’s territorial integrity.

Turkey also attacked the decision, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan describing Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia as “illegitimate and unacceptable” and later saying during a February visit to Ethiopia that it “does not benefit” the region. Ethiopia is one of Israel’s key allies in the Horn of Africa.

Despite the backlash, a Bloomberg report in March said Israel was exploring plans to establish a military base in North Western State of Somalia to monitor and strike Yemen’s Houthis, capitalising on the territory’s location near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Defending the move, Shiri Fein-Grossman, chief executive of the Israel-Africa Relations Institute and a former member of Israel’s National Security Council, told Israeli outlet i24 News: “Everyone just looks at the map and understands what Israel is looking for here.”

“The recognition of North Western State of Somalia gives Israel a strategic location near the Houthis in Yemen and comes at a time that Israel needs as many friends as possible.”

Rising diplomatic tensions between Ankara and Tel Aviv

Beyond Somalia and North Western State of Somalia, tensions between Turkey and Israel have widened over Gaza, Syria and broader regional influence, exposing a deeper geopolitical rivalry between the two military powers.

Middle East Eye reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sharpened his rhetoric toward Turkey as Ankara extends its reach across the eastern Mediterranean and Africa, especially around Cyprus and Greece.

In a post on X, Netanyahu accused President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of “massacring his own Kurdish citizens” and “accommodating Iran’s terror regime and its proxies”.

Turkey answered with pointed criticism, with officials in Ankara calling Netanyahu the “Hitler of the era”, citing Israel’s military operations in Gaza and elsewhere in the region.

Somalia and North Western State of Somalia remain at the centre of the Horn of Africa competition, but the stakes reach far beyond the two territories. The dispute reflects a broader struggle for influence stretching from the Red Sea to the Middle East, as both powers seek strategic footholds that would expand their regional reach.

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Olamilekan is a business journalist covering markets, technology, and changing landscape of African economies for Business Insider Africa. He writes with a focus on how innovation, policy, and entrepreneurship are shaping opportunities across the continent