Two military planes which departed from Turkey landed at Adden Adde Int’l Airport in Mogadishu, according to Turkish sources.
Reports say that 500 Turkish soldiers were onboard on the military planes.
Reports further say that the total number of Turkish soldiers set to be deployed to Somalia will exceed by 2, 500 Turkish soldiers although the exact number of soldiers to be sent to Somalia is not officially announced.
The arrival of Turkish soldiers comes at a time when the Somali Federal Gov’t is engaged in a fierce fighting with Al-Shabab insurgents.
Turkish war planes will be part of the airstrikes targeting Al-Shabab militants.
Turkish parliament approved a motion in July last year in which President Recep Tayyib Erdogan signed which paves the way for the deployment of Turkish military personnel to Somalia for a matter of two years.
The step is part of the efforts to support the security of Somalia and the fight against terrorist groups which is in line with the defense pact between Turkey and Somalia.
The motion that Turkish parliament approved stated clearly that Turkey supported Somalia for more than ten years in the areas of trainings, emergency, consulting security matters in order to strengthen the stability and build robust security agencies in Somalia which will independently deal with terrorism in Somalia.
