Turkey Plans to Deploy More Troops in Horn of Africa Waters for Security

The Turkish government is pushing a plan to increase its troops in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia, and the Arabian Sea. According to Anadolu Agency, Turkey’s presidency this week submitted a motion extending the Turkish force deployment in the region.

The parliament is expected to debate on the motion seeking Turkish forces to be dispatched to Africa. The agency reported that the house would debate the motion days that extend the authorization of the deployment through Feb. 10, 2020.

This motion was initially approved by the parliament in 2008 and resulted in the increase in the number of Turkish personnel deployment in several countries including Somalia.

Since it was first approved by parliament in 2008, the motion for the deployment has been extended 11 times.

The Gulf of Aden is a strategic location near Yemen and close to the world’s fourth-biggest oil transit point – the Bab el-Mandab strait – energy route for Middle Eastern crude oil.