Turkey in Somalia
Turkey has started militarily reaching out to Somalia after Pentagon decided on December 11 to withdraw 700 of US forces from there. These forces were carrying out training for Somali special forces, in particular those formations which fight terrorism.
The American withdrawal has increased Turkish aspirations towards Somalia. Former member of Somali parliament Colonel Ahmed Abdullah Al-Sheikh, who was the commander of the “Danab” military unit which was trained by US forces between 2016-2019, was quoted by the New York Times saying that the US withdrawal was a clearance for Qatar and Turkey, which are planning on the ground to fill the void. Qatar is providing financial coverage, and Turkey is planning to train 10,000 Somali soldiers.
This military training, which Turkey will provide for Somali army, will have a political dimension. Somali battalions are regularly sent to Turkey to undergo elite training programmes. According to the Turkish Ministry of Defence, some of these courses are taking place in the Anti-Terrorism Command.
Through this, Turkey can use the opportunity to achieve several of its objectives in fragile Somalia. This is particularly since Turkey recently lost a strategic ally in that region, the ousted Sudanese President Ahmed Hassan Al-Bashir. Turkey wants to have a military and political control over Somalia, passing through intelligence and security influence, and just not ending with economic dominance.
The question is what is next in Ankara’s plans. In Niger, Turkey will have to compete with France.
(by Rustam Mahmoud in Sky News Arabia)
Meaning of Tunisia’s No to Normalisation
Talking about a deal between Israel and Tunisia is difficult at present. This is because there is a political division and no national unity in Tunisia to deal with such issues. The three institutions of Tunisia – presidency, government and parliament – are at cross with each other and are in inconsistency. There is no political stability, and it is not seen in near future also.
Tunisia is also passing through economic crisis, which the Corona pandemic has worsened. In other words, the political and economic situation has made it a weak state. The deal can only be made if Israel and its powerful allies in the world give financial privileges to Tunisia and its accumulated debts are written off. The current Tunisian political divide is neither allowing Tunisia to reject normalisation nor accept it.
It is also important to note that Morocco has announced normalisation, after the United States announced its recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara which was an undisputed national issue in Morocco. It was also a bone of contention between Morocco and Algeria.
Relations between Tunisia and Algeria are of permanent nature. Both need each other. Therefore, normalisation (with Israel) case costs Tunisia heavily. There will be normalisation between Israel and Algeria. But Israel is moving gradually and has chosen Morocco first. Morocco is the beginning. We have to wait how much time is left for Tunisia to normalise.
(by Amal Mouse in Asharq Al Awsat)
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque