ISTANBUL: Turkiye has deployed F-16 fighter jets to Somalia, officials told AFP on Thursday, as Ankara seeks to expand its military footprint in the Horn of Africa.
Ankara is a key ally of Somalia, providing extensive military and economic support to the country, which has been ravaged by civil war since the early 1990s.
"Turkey has deployed F-16 jets in Somalia," a government official told AFP, without giving further details.
A second official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aircraft would be operated by the Turkish contingent stationed in Somalia.
"This is for our own security," the source said, stressing that the jets would not be flown by Somali personnel.
Turkiye opened its largest overseas military base in the Somali capital Mogadishu in 2017.
Ankara maintains a task force and an air component command there "to contribute to the development of Somalia's counter-terrorism capacity through military assistance, training and advisory activities", according to the Turkish defense ministry.
The deployment follows Turkiye's condemnation of Israel's recognition of Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic, calling it "overt interference in Somalia's domestic affairs".
Somaliland declared independence in 1991, as Somalia was plunged into chaos following the fall of dictator Siad Barre.
The region has operated autonomously since then and possesses its own currency, army and police force.
It has generally experienced greater stability than Somalia, where Al-Shabaab Islamist militants periodically mount attacks in Mogadishu.
Diplomatic isolation has been the norm -- until Israel's move to recognize it as a sovereign nation, which has been criticized by the African Union, Egypt, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The European Union has insisted Somalia's sovereignty should be respected.
