Turkey Opens Its Largest Overseas Military Base in Somalia

Turkish Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar, second left, and Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, second right, receive a salute from a Somali soldier at combined Turkey-Somali training center during his visit to Mogadishu, Somalia, Sept. 30, 2017. Farah Abdi Warsame/AP

 

The military base in Somalia is also a reminder that despite Turkey’s growing regional and national problems, Africa remains central to its global expansion strategy.

Turkey has opened its largest overseas military base in Somalia, cementing its relationship with the war-torn nation and strengthening its strategic place in the African continent.

The $50 million base was opened on Saturday (Sept. 30) and will train more than 10,000 soldiers. The move is part of an effort to institutionalize and restructure the police and military services, battle the terrorist group al-Shabaab, and help expand the government’s authority into more towns and regions. The new base also takes on an urgent significance as the 2020 withdrawal deadline for the 22,000 African Union multinational force gets closer.

5 New Countries That Might Exist By 2025

With violence in Xinjiang continuing and tensions in Chechnya and Dagestan back in the public consciousness, it seems almost cliché to say the end of the sprawling, imperial nation-state is here, or at least not far off. Hell, a couple thousand signatures for an independent Texas got the foreign press questioning if even the U.S. wasn’t immune from secessionist conflict.

Now, have the massive, multi-ethnic superpowers of the modern world really reached their breaking point? The answer’s a big, emphatic no. While there’s certainly no shortage of secessionist claims in Russia, China, and the surrounding geopolitical region they dabble in, it’s unlikely we’ll see any new (internationally recognized) countries emerge from the Caucuses or Central Asia. A major precedent — any one secessionist success story — could set off new fervor in any number of independence-minded areas that could radically undermine the neighborhood superpowers’ international standing. For the leaders of Russia and China, maintaining their borders against secessionist challenges is an essential part of maintaining their political legitimacy. Sorry, Tibet.

Somaliland’s role in a potential military conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt

Tension is increasing as Ethiopia and Egypt continue to butt heads over the Nile River. Ethiopia remains firm on building the $4.2 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Egypt is determined to stop Ethiopia from building the dam, claiming that Egypt is the “gift of the Nile” and water supply will decrease by 20% and hydroelectric power would decrease by 40%.

The battle over the Nile has already drawn neighboring countries into the dispute. Sudan and South Sudan have expressed their support for Ethiopia’s dam, while Somalia might show their allegiance to Egypt.