Baidoa Fighting Raises Questions Over Turkey’s Growing Role in Somalia

Allegations of Turkish Airstrikes Risk Turning a Strategic Partnership Into a Political Liability

Baidoa (WDN) — Somalia’s latest fighting in Baidoa is raising uncomfortable questions about Turkey’s expanding security role in the country, after the camp of former Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen accused Ankara of using Turkish F-16 fighter jets against his forces.

Laftagareen’s office said Monday that its forces had launched an operation in Baidoa aimed at restoring security and order. It accused federal and Southwest forces of resisting the offensive and alleged that Turkish aircraft carried out airstrikes that caused civilian casualties and property damage.

The claims have not been independently verified. Turkish authorities have not been publicly established as having carried out the alleged strikes, while Somali federal authorities have given a different account of the fighting, saying their forces repelled an attack involving Al-Shabaab and Laftagareen-aligned fighters.

What is clear is that Baidoa experienced heavy fighting on Monday, with fighter jets and drones reported during the clashes. Medical authorities and aid agencies reported civilian casualties and serious disruption to access to healthcare.

Turkey’s Somalia Partnership Under Pressure

The allegations carry particular weight because Turkey is not a distant military partner in Somalia. Ankara has developed one of the country’s deepest security relationships, including a 10-year defense and economic cooperation framework and a military presence focused on training and strengthening Somali security institutions.

Turkey’s military deployment in Somalia was also extended through July 2028.That makes the accusations politically significant even before they are independently established.

If Turkey were perceived by a substantial section of Somali society as directly intervening on one side of a dispute between the federal government and a Somali political faction, Ankara could face a difficult long-term credibility problem.

Turkey has built its Somalia relationship over more than a decade through humanitarian assistance, infrastructure, diplomacy and security cooperation. Its official position has emphasized support for Somalia’s stability and state institutions.

Turning that partnership into an instrument associated with one side of Somalia’s internal political struggle could therefore create consequences extending well beyond the battlefield.

A Domestic Political Conflict with Foreign Security Power

The Baidoa confrontation is fundamentally rooted in a Somali political dispute over control and legitimacy in Southwest State.

Federal forces took control of Baidoa earlier this year after relations between Mogadishu and Laftagareen collapsed. Since then, repeated clashes have transformed the political dispute into an increasingly militarized confrontation. Monday’s fighting was the latest and among the most serious episodes.

The involvement—or even perceived involvement—of a powerful foreign military partner introduces another layer to the conflict. For Ankara, the distinction between supporting Somalia’s national security institutions and becoming associated with one side of a domestic political confrontation is crucial.

For Somalia, the issue is equally sensitive. Foreign military assistance is intended to strengthen national institutions, but if that assistance becomes identified with political factionalism, it risks deepening mistrust rather than strengthening state legitimacy.

The Long-Term Cost

Turkey has invested heavily in its relationship with Somalia, and the partnership extends beyond military cooperation into economic, humanitarian and diplomatic ties. Ankara’s own official account describes Somalia as a longstanding strategic partner.

That relationship could face a very different political environment if Turkish forces or aircraft become widely perceived as participants in Somalia’s internal conflicts.

The immediate question is therefore not only who won Monday’s battle, but whether Somalia’s international security partnerships are becoming entangled in its unresolved political disputes.

The allegations surrounding Turkish F-16s require independent investigation rather than political assumption. But the controversy itself is significant.

For Ankara, the strategic challenge is clear: maintaining a long-term partnership with Somalia may require ensuring that Turkish military power is not perceived as becoming an instrument in Somalia’s domestic political struggle.

WardheerNews