Will Turkey’s military presence in Somalia lead to conflict with Somaliland?

Despite drawing harsh reactions from the breakaway Somaliland region, Turkey’s growing military presence in Somalia is unlikely to lead to regional confrontation.

On July 27, Turkey’s parliament approved a mandate to allow the Turkish armed forces to send naval forces to Somali forces for two years. Prior to the approval of the mandate at the Turkish parliament, Somaliland warned Turkey against deploying its naval forces to the waters between the breakaway region and Somalia. 

But Turkey’s naval presence in Somalia is unlikely to cause conflict because Ankara has maintained a substantial military contingent in the Horn of Africa nation since the early 2010s. And while Somaliland does not have the military means to oppose Turkey, Ankara does not intend to infringe on the internal affairs of Somaliland anyway.

Since Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan first visited Somalia in 2011, Ankara has increased its involvement in the Horn of Africa country. Turkey first provided food and medical aid to the famine-stricken nation and then expanded its footprint by opening its largest military training facility overseas (TURKSOM) in the Somali capital Mogadishu in 2017.