Turkey Helps Somalia Prepare for the 'Day After' AMISOM
The African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) is expected to withdraw its forces and hand over the country's security to the underarmed, undersized and undertrained Somali military by 2020. In a massive boost in Mogadishu, Turkey pledged to arm and train Somali troops for the fight against al-Shabaab militia
Dr. Shaul Shay
| 22/01/2018
Somali forces accompanied by African Union peacekeeping forces patrol the streets of Mogadishu (Archive Photo: AP)
Earlier this month, the Turkish government has delivered 450 of its newly designed and manufactured MPT-76 assault rifles to Somalia to fight al-Shabaab militant group. Somali State Minister for Defense Mohamed Ali Haga said that this is the first time that Turkey supplies weapons to the Somali army. According to Haga, the Turkish government has equipped a company-sized Somali army unit which graduated from the Turkish military training camp in Mogadishu.
Turkey has announced in July 2017 that it finalized the construction of a military base in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, in which Turkish military personnel will train the Somali government troops. The base has been approved by the United Nations. The first batch of Turkish military personnel arrived in Mogadishu in August 2017 to commence the training program for the Somali national army.
The training camp, whose construction began in March 2015, is located south of Mogadishu and occupies 4 square kilometers. It houses three military schools, dormitories, and depots. It will have the capacity to train more than 1,500 troops. Turkey deployed 200 officers and soldiers as trainers, as well as a security force for the compound.
The Turkish military base in Mogadishu was opened on September 30, 2017, and Turkey plans to train as many as 10,000 soldiers. The first company to receive the training was selected from current members of the Somali army and graduated on December 23, 2017. The second company is to start training soon. In addition, military officers are also given training on command and control and leadership skills in the Turkish training base.
Somali State Minister for Defense Mohamed Ali Haga said that the soldiers who arrived for training had been equipped with Turkish-made rifles. "Turkey promised to equip every soldier who is being trained at the camp," the minister added.
The Somalia National Army (SNA) had existed in one form or another since 2004 when the first transitional government since Somalia's 1990s civil war was created. However, a host of factors including corruption, clan rivalries, inadequate training, and a lack of funding has undermined all attempts to make the SNA bigger and stronger.
In 2017, The Somali government unveiled a structure for the future Somali security forces. The plan projects Somalia will have at least 18,000 regular troops and 4,000 Special Forces, bringing the total to 22,000. The number of troops currently available to the government is likely half of that.
The troops were trained in different countries, including Uganda, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, by different armies. About 500 Special Forces who make up the battle-tested Danab ("lightning") unit were trained by the United States. EU forces gave some instruction, as did the United Arab Emirates.
Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, the former director of Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency, says the Turkish training base is Somalia's best opportunity to acquire a unified, effective army.
Towards an AMISOM Withdrawal
The African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) has grown from an initial deployment of 1,500 Ugandan soldiers in 2007 to a multi-national African force of over 21,000 soldiers, with troops from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Uganda. Sierra Leone withdrew its battalion of troops in early 2015.
The international community paid each country in AMISOM $1,028 (990 Euros) per month for each soldier. Countries are free to choose how much of that each soldier receives, while the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA) covers all logistics and associated costs.
The European Union, AMISOM's largest donor who had fully funded the mission, announced in mid-2016 that it would cut its financing by 20 percent to enable it to channel more resources to the Sahel and Chad Basin, which are also facing escalating violence. This budget slash led to a deficit in AMISOM’s administrative budget and the loss of about US$165 for each soldier per month. This unsettled the troops and affected their morale.
Under an agreement between the African Union and the UN Security Council, the number of all African peacekeepers in Somalia has been reduced by 1,000 before the end of 2017. Uganda, the largest contributor of troops (6000 troops), has begun withdrawing dozens of its troops from Somalia. Some 281 troops were said to leave Somalia by December 31, 2017.
The African Union announced it plans to withdraw all its 22,000 forces from Somalia by the end of 2020, saying security responsibilities would be gradually transferred to Somalia's military, starting in 2018.
The MPT-76 Assault Rifles
The MPT-76, a 7.62mm NATO modular assault rifle, is Turkey's first locally-designed rifle. It fires the 7.62x51mm NATO rounds using 20-round box magazines, made from translucent polymer. It has an effective range of up to 600 meters and is capable of firing 600 rounds per minute at a muzzle velocity of 800 m per second. The MPT-76, which passed 47 NATO tests, was designed by Kalekalip and produced by the Turkish Defense Company MKEK to replace the Turkish army's Heckler & Koch G3 battle rifles.
The MPT-76 was designed for robust high-altitude, all-weather combat, capable of functioning in extreme hot and cold weather. The development of the MPT-76 started in 2007 with first delivery to the Turkish army in May 2014 for evaluation. Serial production began in 2015. The project will see a total of 35,014 MPT-76's being produced in two tranches for the Turkish Army, Navy and the Gendarmerie General Command. In January 2017, Machines and Chemical Industries Board (MKEK) delivered the first 500 serially produced MPT-76 assault rifles to the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC).
The UN Arms Embargo
Somalia is under a United Nations-imposed arms embargo for 25 years, in effect since the civil war. The restrictions were loosened in 2007 when the UN Security Council resolved that the embargo would not apply to weapons supplied for use by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). It was further loosened in 2013 to allow the sale of light weapons.
Somali State Minister for Defense Haga said that over 400 Somali soldiers were supplied with small weapons and machine guns allowed under a partial UN embargo on Somalia.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has appealed to the international community to lift the embargo to allow the country to purchase heavy weapons to fight al Shabaab. He has called for military support from neighboring Uganda, Ethiopia and Djibouti who have responded positively to renew the offensive against the jihadist group.
Summary
The multinational African Union force in Somalia (AMISOM) is expected to withdraw its forces and hand over the country's security to the Somali military by the end of 2020. Somalia’s security forces are supposed to be taking on the responsibility as the African Union force prepares to withdraw, but the Somali forces may not be able to hold the gains made by the African Union troops that deprived al-Shabaab of large territories.
A recent "Operational Readiness Assessment" conducted by the Somali government found that approximately 30 percent of the soldiers in the bases do not have weapons. The same assessment also found that some of the weapons used by government troops are privately owned by clans. The evaluators said some units also lack medium and heavy weaponry, and some units are "undermanned."
The pledge by Turkey to arm Somali troops will be seen as a massive boost in Mogadishu at a time when the Somali army is in a difficult transitional period – struggling to be trained, preparing to take over from African Union forces, working to protect the government and fighting al-Shabaab, all at the same time. Somali officials said training at Turkish training base in Mogadishu would harmonize all the training given to Somali soldiers to produce an organized force.
Al-Shabaab aims to drive out the AMISOM peacekeepers, topple Somalia’s Western-backed government and establish an Islamic emirate ruled by a strict version of Shariah law. It regularly targets the AMISOM forces and the security forces and officials from within the relatively weak UN-backed government. Bystanders are regularly killed or wounded by the group's indiscriminate bombing attacks.
Al-Shabaab's new strategy does not pose a threat to Somalia alone, but it goes beyond its borders to target the stability of the entire Horn of Africa. This, therefore, demands that regional and international forces offer more support to the Somali government and ensure their own trade and economic interests in the region.
The African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) is expected to withdraw its forces and hand over the country's security to the underarmed, undersized and undertrained Somali military by 2020. In a massive boost in Mogadishu, Turkey pledged to arm and train Somali troops for the fight against al-Shabaab militia
Somali forces accompanied by African Union peacekeeping forces patrol the streets of Mogadishu (Archive Photo: AP)
Earlier this month, the Turkish government has delivered 450 of its newly designed and manufactured MPT-76 assault rifles to Somalia to fight al-Shabaab militant group. Somali State Minister for Defense Mohamed Ali Haga said that this is the first time that Turkey supplies weapons to the Somali army. According to Haga, the Turkish government has equipped a company-sized Somali army unit which graduated from the Turkish military training camp in Mogadishu.
Turkey has announced in July 2017 that it finalized the construction of a military base in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, in which Turkish military personnel will train the Somali government troops. The base has been approved by the United Nations. The first batch of Turkish military personnel arrived in Mogadishu in August 2017 to commence the training program for the Somali national army.
The training camp, whose construction began in March 2015, is located south of Mogadishu and occupies 4 square kilometers. It houses three military schools, dormitories, and depots. It will have the capacity to train more than 1,500 troops. Turkey deployed 200 officers and soldiers as trainers, as well as a security force for the compound.
The Turkish military base in Mogadishu was opened on September 30, 2017, and Turkey plans to train as many as 10,000 soldiers. The first company to receive the training was selected from current members of the Somali army and graduated on December 23, 2017. The second company is to start training soon. In addition, military officers are also given training on command and control and leadership skills in the Turkish training base.
Somali State Minister for Defense Mohamed Ali Haga said that the soldiers who arrived for training had been equipped with Turkish-made rifles. "Turkey promised to equip every soldier who is being trained at the camp," the minister added.
The Somalia National Army (SNA) had existed in one form or another since 2004 when the first transitional government since Somalia's 1990s civil war was created. However, a host of factors including corruption, clan rivalries, inadequate training, and a lack of funding has undermined all attempts to make the SNA bigger and stronger.
In 2017, The Somali government unveiled a structure for the future Somali security forces. The plan projects Somalia will have at least 18,000 regular troops and 4,000 Special Forces, bringing the total to 22,000. The number of troops currently available to the government is likely half of that.
The troops were trained in different countries, including Uganda, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, by different armies. About 500 Special Forces who make up the battle-tested Danab ("lightning") unit were trained by the United States. EU forces gave some instruction, as did the United Arab Emirates.
Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, the former director of Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency, says the Turkish training base is Somalia's best opportunity to acquire a unified, effective army.
Towards an AMISOM Withdrawal
The African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) has grown from an initial deployment of 1,500 Ugandan soldiers in 2007 to a multi-national African force of over 21,000 soldiers, with troops from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Uganda. Sierra Leone withdrew its battalion of troops in early 2015.
The international community paid each country in AMISOM $1,028 (990 Euros) per month for each soldier. Countries are free to choose how much of that each soldier receives, while the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA) covers all logistics and associated costs.
The European Union, AMISOM's largest donor who had fully funded the mission, announced in mid-2016 that it would cut its financing by 20 percent to enable it to channel more resources to the Sahel and Chad Basin, which are also facing escalating violence. This budget slash led to a deficit in AMISOM’s administrative budget and the loss of about US$165 for each soldier per month. This unsettled the troops and affected their morale.
Under an agreement between the African Union and the UN Security Council, the number of all African peacekeepers in Somalia has been reduced by 1,000 before the end of 2017. Uganda, the largest contributor of troops (6000 troops), has begun withdrawing dozens of its troops from Somalia. Some 281 troops were said to leave Somalia by December 31, 2017.
The African Union announced it plans to withdraw all its 22,000 forces from Somalia by the end of 2020, saying security responsibilities would be gradually transferred to Somalia's military, starting in 2018.
The MPT-76 Assault Rifles
The MPT-76, a 7.62mm NATO modular assault rifle, is Turkey's first locally-designed rifle. It fires the 7.62x51mm NATO rounds using 20-round box magazines, made from translucent polymer. It has an effective range of up to 600 meters and is capable of firing 600 rounds per minute at a muzzle velocity of 800 m per second. The MPT-76, which passed 47 NATO tests, was designed by Kalekalip and produced by the Turkish Defense Company MKEK to replace the Turkish army's Heckler & Koch G3 battle rifles.
The MPT-76 was designed for robust high-altitude, all-weather combat, capable of functioning in extreme hot and cold weather. The development of the MPT-76 started in 2007 with first delivery to the Turkish army in May 2014 for evaluation. Serial production began in 2015. The project will see a total of 35,014 MPT-76's being produced in two tranches for the Turkish Army, Navy and the Gendarmerie General Command. In January 2017, Machines and Chemical Industries Board (MKEK) delivered the first 500 serially produced MPT-76 assault rifles to the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC).
The UN Arms Embargo
Somalia is under a United Nations-imposed arms embargo for 25 years, in effect since the civil war. The restrictions were loosened in 2007 when the UN Security Council resolved that the embargo would not apply to weapons supplied for use by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). It was further loosened in 2013 to allow the sale of light weapons.
Somali State Minister for Defense Haga said that over 400 Somali soldiers were supplied with small weapons and machine guns allowed under a partial UN embargo on Somalia.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has appealed to the international community to lift the embargo to allow the country to purchase heavy weapons to fight al Shabaab. He has called for military support from neighboring Uganda, Ethiopia and Djibouti who have responded positively to renew the offensive against the jihadist group.
Summary
The multinational African Union force in Somalia (AMISOM) is expected to withdraw its forces and hand over the country's security to the Somali military by the end of 2020. Somalia’s security forces are supposed to be taking on the responsibility as the African Union force prepares to withdraw, but the Somali forces may not be able to hold the gains made by the African Union troops that deprived al-Shabaab of large territories.
A recent "Operational Readiness Assessment" conducted by the Somali government found that approximately 30 percent of the soldiers in the bases do not have weapons. The same assessment also found that some of the weapons used by government troops are privately owned by clans. The evaluators said some units also lack medium and heavy weaponry, and some units are "undermanned."
The pledge by Turkey to arm Somali troops will be seen as a massive boost in Mogadishu at a time when the Somali army is in a difficult transitional period – struggling to be trained, preparing to take over from African Union forces, working to protect the government and fighting al-Shabaab, all at the same time. Somali officials said training at Turkish training base in Mogadishu would harmonize all the training given to Somali soldiers to produce an organized force.
Al-Shabaab aims to drive out the AMISOM peacekeepers, topple Somalia’s Western-backed government and establish an Islamic emirate ruled by a strict version of Shariah law. It regularly targets the AMISOM forces and the security forces and officials from within the relatively weak UN-backed government. Bystanders are regularly killed or wounded by the group's indiscriminate bombing attacks.
Al-Shabaab's new strategy does not pose a threat to Somalia alone, but it goes beyond its borders to target the stability of the entire Horn of Africa. This, therefore, demands that regional and international forces offer more support to the Somali government and ensure their own trade and economic interests in the region.
