Türkiye continues to support Somali Army with ongoing training

Türkiye reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the Somali army with the swearing-in ceremony of the personnel of the 13th Kartal (Eagle) Battalion.

The ceremony, marking the completion of basic training, took place at the Somali-Türkiye Task Force Command premises, says a post by Turkish Ministry of National Defence on its X account, Caliber.Az reports.

📍 Anadolu Kışlası/Somali

Somali Türk Görev Kuvveti Komutanlığı tarafından Kartal Taburlarının yetiştirilmesi maksadıyla ülkemize gönderilmek üzere temel eğitimlerini tamamlayan 13’üncü Kartal Taburu personeli için yemin töreni düzenlendi. #MillîSavunmaBakanlığı pic.twitter.com/Glq1mFXfP9

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) June 7, 2024

The newly trained battalion members are slated to undergo further training in Türkiye.

The Somali Eagle Unit was specially trained by Turkish officers and experts. They completed their training at TURKSOM in Somalia, as well as in Türkiye.

TURKSOM, which has been working in Somalia since 2017, was established to train members of the Somali army and support the Somali army.

Ties between Türkiye and Somalia have been one of the defining features of the Turkish foreign policy towards Africa.

In 2011, then-prime minister - now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the first non-African leader to visit Somalia in almost two decades.

Since then, he has visited the country on multiple occasions and hosted his Somali counterparts in Türkiye several times.