ANKARA: Turkish military aircraft carrying a contingent of Somali commandos who had completed their training in Turkey landed in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. Somali Defense Minister Hassan Mohomed Amardanbe, Army Chief Gen. Odawa Yusuf Rageh and other senior officials welcomed the troops at Adan Adde International Airport, according to Somalian national television.
The trainees will join the famous and most effective army force called Gorgor (The Eagles) in the country, all trained by Turkey. Turkey has been a reliable partner in rebuilding Somalia across all sectors, Abdullahi Ahmed Sheikh, a former Somali special forces commander, told Anadolu Agency (AA) by phone. “Apart from infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and roads, Turkey has been a crucial strategic partner in training and equipping Somali troops, particularly the Gorgor Commando Brigade of the national army and the Haramcad (Cheetah) Special Police Unit,” Sheikh added. Turkey provided special commando training to 150 Somali soldiers as part of a military cooperation deal between the two countries. The training of the Somali Armed Forces soldiers took place at Turkey’s Counterterrorism Training and Exercise Center in the southwestern province of Isparta, according to a statement by the Turkish Defense Ministry.
Last August, Turkish Ambassador to Mogadishu Mehmet Yılmaz said that Turkey is on track to train one-third of Somalia’s military forces, totaling around 15,000-16,000 personnel. – Agencies
