Hundreds of elite Somali soldiers graduate from training program in Türkiye

By Mohamed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Hundreds of members of an elite Somali commando unit on Friday graduated from a training program in Türkiye under a bilateral pact on strengthening the Somali Armed Forces.

The elite soldiers of the Gorgor unit trained on how to respond to security challenges in the Horn of Africa nation posed by al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group.

"Today in Isparta, Turkey, we held a crucial closing ceremony of the training to enhance our agreement on the construction and strengthening of the Somali Armed Forces,” the Somali Embassy in Türkiye said on X after the graduation ceremony.

Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, who met with Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz earlier this week, thanked Ankara for the “valuable support for peace and security in Somalia in particular and East Africa in general.”

He said Mogadishu will continue to work with determination to further develop the strong relations between Somalia and Türkiye in every field and to further strengthen brotherly ties.

Türkiye, a longtime close ally of Somalia, has also invested in Somalia’s education, infrastructure, and health care sectors.

It also has its largest overseas military facility in the capital Mogadishu to train the Somali National Army.