Turkey Came to Save Somalia. Now, It Owns It

We welcomed Ankara as a savior in 2011. In 2026, we are waking up to a modern colonial reality.

The moment you set foot at Mogadishu airport built and managed by Turkish conglomerates, the first flags you see waving in the humid Indian Ocean breeze are the crimson banners of Turkey adorned with a crescent and star. From there, you will drive down Turkish-paved roads, past the sprawling Erdogan Hospital, toward an enclave housing the largest Turkish embassy complex on earth. For over a decade, this vast architectural and infrastructural footprint was celebrated by Somalis as a monument to international solidarity. When famine ravaged our country in 2011 and Western diplomats retreated to the fortified Green Zones of neighboring Kenya, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey arrived with his family and cabinet, bringing aid and a promise of enduring brotherhood.

But it is now the autumn of 2026, and this brotherhood has begun to feel suffocatingly like a ledger of debts and obligations. As Somalia sheds the burdens of its past completing debt relief, joining the East African Community, and emerging from the shadow of the UN arms embargo it should be entering a new era of sovereignty, economic opportunity, and national renewal. Yet, despite these historic milestones, ordinary Somalis have yet to see meaningful improvements in their daily lives. Poverty, insecurity, unemployment, and inadequate public services persist. Worse still, as we emerge from the constraints of our past, we risk walking straight into a new and more insidious trap. What began as a desperately needed humanitarian lifeline has gradually evolved into an expansive geopolitical enterprise. Under the guise of state-building and security cooperation, Ankara is systematically transforming Somalia into a forward operating base for its expanding regional ambitions, potentially drawing our country into Middle Eastern rivalries and proxy conflicts. In the process, we risk exchanging one set of dependencies for another: trading the burdens of our past for the increasingly firm grip of Ankara.

The bill of this Faustian bargain is coming due. More troubling, however, is the emergence of a new and potentially dangerous dependency. What began as a desperately needed humanitarian lifeline risks evolving into a relationship shaped by geopolitical interests and strategic dependence. Under the guise of state-building and security cooperation, Turkey’s expanding role in Somalia raises questions about whether the country’s sovereignty and foreign policy are becoming increasingly tied to Ankara’s regional ambitions. There is also a legitimate concern that deeper involvement in Middle Eastern rivalries could expose Somalia to conflicts that do not serve its national interests. In seeking to reduce dependence on Western partners, Somalia must be careful not to replace one external dependency with another. The ultimate cost of this bargain could be a loss of strategic autonomy at a time when Somalia can least afford it.

The Ottoman Mirage in the Horn of Africa

To understand how deeply Ankara has woven itself into the fabric of the Somali state, one only needs to examine who controls the levers of our sovereignty. Turkey has established a commanding presence over two of Somalia’s most important economic gateways. Turkish companies operate the Port of Mogadishu and Aden Adde International Airport, institutions that generate substantial revenue and are central to the country’s economic independence. Meanwhile, our domestic industries continue to struggle for investment, infrastructure, and the oxygen needed to grow. Within the presidential palace, Turkish influence has become so pervasive that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish where Somali national policy ends and Turkish strategic interests begin.

Turkey drilling oil vessel that came to Mogadishu

This brings to mind the words of the famous Irish writer James Joyce in his novel Ulysses. When Roger Casement exposed the atrocities committed by the Belgian colonial regime in the Congo, he also became a fierce critic of British imperialism. Joyce captures this critique through the character Stephen Dedalus, who describes the British Empire as being composed of “beer, beef, business, bibles, bulldogs, battleships, buggery, and bishops.” The passage captures the contradictions of imperial power, in which commerce, religion, military strength, and political influence operate side by side. More importantly, it reminds us that imperial ambitions do not always arrive under the banner of conquest, they can also advance through trade, religious institutions, security arrangements, and seemingly benevolent partnerships.

In many respects, this historical critique offers a useful lens through which to examine Turkey’s expanding presence in Somalia. Turkish involvement should not automatically be equated with altruism. There is no denying that Turkish schools, mosques, hospitals, and humanitarian agencies have addressed genuine needs, particularly during some of Somalia’s darkest moments. Nor should we dismiss the risks Turkey took when many Western governments remained reluctant to engage directly with the country’s difficult realities. While the United States, despite its longstanding security partnership with Somalia, has largely relied on targeted airstrikes and limited security operations, Turkey established a much deeper presence on the ground, embedding itself within Somalia’s political, economic, and security institutions.

However, humanitarian contributions and strategic ambitions are not mutually exclusive. What began as assistance and reconstruction also created opportunities for Ankara to establish a lasting geopolitical foothold. Turkey recognized what many traditional Western powers had overlooked, Somalia’s strategic importance extends far beyond its immediate political instability. Its extensive coastline, position along vital international maritime routes, proximity to the equator, and potential to serve as a commercial gateway for landlocked regional states make it an enormously valuable strategic asset.

Consequently, Ankara has positioned itself as one of the most influential external powers in the Horn of Africa, with growing leverage over Somalia’s economic gateways, security architecture, and political institutions. At a time when threats to international commerce and competition over strategic maritime routes are intensifying, this influence carries implications far beyond the bilateral relationship between Mogadishu and Ankara. The central question, therefore, is no longer simply what Turkey has contributed to Somalia, but what it expects in return and whether Somali leaders have negotiated those obligations transparently, in the national interest, and with the consent of the Somali people.

Mercenaries or Mentors? The Militarization of Mogadishu

Nowhere is this dynamic more alarming than in the realm of national security. Since 2017, Turkey has operated Camp TURKSOM, a sprawling, four-square-kilometer military academy in Mogadishu that serves as its largest overseas military facility. According to recent data, this base has trained more than 15,000 Somali troops, including elite Gorgor commandos. While leaders in Mogadishu praise this assistance as vital for the war against terrorism, the true nature of this military partnership has drawn suspicions in recent months. Moreover, by 2026, Turkey’s expanding military presence in Somalia has raised serious questions about the extent of its influence over the country’s security and sovereignty. Rather than limiting its role to military training and assistance, Turkey appears to be expanding its operational footprint, with reports of T129 ATAK attack helicopters and fleets of armed Bayraktar TB2 drones operating in Somali territory. More concerningly, allegations that these military capabilities could be used against opposition leaders and regional administrations, including South West State, raise fundamental questions about the limits of foreign military involvement in Somalia’s internal political disputes.

Consequently, the Somali people must clarify the scope of Turkey’s military mandate and explain what safeguards are in place to prevent foreign military power from being used to suppress political opposition or exert pressure on federal member states. Ultimately, military cooperation with foreign partners must strengthen Somalia’s national security, protect its sovereignty, and serve the interests of the Somali people this overwhelming military apparatus is not strictly about neutralizing domestic terrorists. It is about power projection. According to Bloomberg reporting, Turkey’s strategic push into Somalia is heavily bolstered by its alliance with Saudi Arabia, a partnership recently solidified by a mutual defense pact signed alongside Pakistan. However, this geopolitical alignment comes with severe consequences for Mogadishu.

By outsourcing its national defense to an increasingly domineering Ankara, Somalia has been unwillingly drafted into Turkey’s complex regional rivalries. Because the country relies so heavily on Turkish firepower and Somalia’s growing reliance on it are drawing the country into escalating diplomatic clashes with the United Arab Emirates and Israel, whose actions undermine Somalia’s sovereignty by supporting splinter factions and breakaway regions, further fragmenting the federal state. Their opportunistic interference and expansionist ambitions in the Red Sea only serve to deepen instability across the fragile Horn of Africa. Consequently, instead of operating as an independent, non-aligned African nation, Somalia is being cynically exploited by all sides, it is used as a pawn in a broader Middle Eastern chess match where Emirati interference and Israeli ambitions compound the damage of Turkey’s overreach. Ultimately, Turkey’s so-called “protection” is actively elevating the risk of the fragile nation becoming a proxy battlefield, ensuring that Somali blood may be shed merely to secure Ankara’s strategic depth against Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv’s equally destructive regional agendas.

The Resource Trap: Mortgaging Our Waters

For years, Somalia’s untapped hydrocarbon reserves were a distant dream, overshadowed by the immediate crises of terrorism and famine. But under the protection of Turkish drones and commandos, the race for Somali oil has commenced with neck-breaking speed with opaque legality. In 2026, building on undisclosed energy cooperation agreement, Turkey transitioned from seismic studies to extraction preparations. Following surveys conducted by the Turkish research vessel Oruç Reis, Ankara has announced operations for direct drilling in Somalia’s onshore blocks, with highly complex deep-water offshore drilling slated to follow. This is not a joint venture in the ordinary sense.* According to reports concerning recent undisclosed economic agreements, *Turkey has been granted significant responsibilities in managing, securing, and developing Somalia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), a vast maritime area roughly comparable in size to Texas and believed to contain substantial offshore oil and gas resources.

Reports have also stated that Turkey could receive up to 90 percent of revenues from certain maritime activities. These reported terms raise serious questions about transparency, national sovereignty, and whether the Somali people will receive a fair share of the wealth generated from their natural resources. Such far-reaching agreements must be made public, independently scrutinized, and clearly explained to the Somali people. Somalia’s maritime resources belong to the Somali nation, and any agreement governing their exploitation must serve the country’s long-term national interests.

For a nation desperately attempting to rebuild its shattered economy, handing over a ninety of our most valuable natural resource to a foreign power is plunder. The narrative sold to the Somali public is that Turkish expertise is the only way to quickly monetize these assets and free ourselves from international donor dependency. The reality is that our sovereign wealth is being siphoned off to finance Ankara’s domestic economy and fund its foreign policy adventures. Our oil is being drilled, our sea lanes are being monopolized, and our ports are being taxed, all while the average Somali citizen continues to live in crushing poverty. We are witnessing the classic colonial playbook, updated for the 21st century. The colonial masters of the past used gunboats and treaties written in languages we did not understand; today, they use drone strikes and bilateral economic agreements negotiated behind the closed doors in Ankara.

Reclaiming the Somali Soul

No Somali can deny the profound gratitude we owe to the Turkish people, particularly President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for standing with Somalia during one of the darkest periods in our history. Turkey’s humanitarian assistance and development initiatives helped save lives and contributed to Somalia’s recovery when much of the international community offered little more than words. However, gratitude must never become an obligation to surrender our sovereignty, dignity, or national interests. As the philosopher George Santayana famously warned, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Somalia must learn from its history, particularly how poor leadership, weak institutions, and political divisions have repeatedly made our country vulnerable to foreign exploitation. The Somali people are welcoming and generous, and they value genuine friendship and mutually beneficial partnerships. But Turkey, like every other foreign power, must understand one fundamental principle, Somalia is a partner, not a possession**.** Our natural resources are not political bargaining chips, and our sovereignty is not for sale. Any agreement involving maritime resources, ports, military cooperation, or strategic infrastructure must be transparent, lawful, and beneficial to the Somali people, not merely to foreign governments or individual politicians.

Let this serve as a clear warning to Ankara, do not mistake Somalia’s weak leadership and present challenges for a weak or helpless people**.** Somalis have endured colonialism, civil war, famine, terrorism, and state collapse. Yet through every chapter of our history, our determination to defend our dignity and independence has endured. Any foreign power that exploits our political divisions, takes unfair advantage of our resources, or undermines our sovereignty risks losing the trust of the Somali people and jeopardizing its own long-term relationship with our nation.

Nevertheless, gratitude cannot become an open-ended obligation, and it must never be paid for with our national sovereignty. As Somalia looks toward the future, its future government must fundamentally reassess the unequal dimensions of its relationship with Turkey. This requires demanding full transparency and accountability in maritime exploration and drilling agreements, ensuring that our natural resources generate tangible benefits for our people, and building a professional Somali National Army accountable to constitutional institutions and national interests. Equally important, Somalia must safeguard its diplomatic independence and refuse to become entangled in foreign proxy conflicts that serve neither its security nor its national interests.

Somalia in 2026 is no longer the country of famine and state collapse that captured the world’s attention in 2011**.** Our people have endured extraordinary suffering, but they have also demonstrated remarkable resilience. Having survived decades of instability, we must now ensure that international assistance does not evolve into another form of dependency or that reconstruction comes at the expense of our independence.

Turkey still has an opportunity to remain a valued and trusted partner for generations to come. But that future depends on fairness, transparency, mutual respect, and an unwavering recognition of Somalia’s sovereignty. The ultimate danger is that Somalia could finally achieve the peace and stability for which generations have sacrificed so much, only to discover that its independence has been quietly compromised. We must learn from history and ensure that the price of rebuilding our nation is never the loss of control over its resources, its decisions, or its future.

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