Somali Proxies in Libya

The violations of the Turkish regime and the dispatch of Syrian mercenaries in Libya, had already been revealed by many local and international reports. However, a Pentagon’s report revealed that Turkey sent between 3,500 and 3,800 Somali fighters to Libya.

The Turkish move represented an international embarrassment for Ankara by its American ally at a time of increasing international calls rejecting Turkish interference in Libya. Some have argued this report prompted Akar’s visit to Doha and his meeting with the Qatari Emir. It could actually be that the report caused a shift in the Turkish view on the use of Syrians in the Libyan war and their replacement with Somalis.

The analysis of some stems from the fact that Turkey may try to use mercenaries from other nationalities in Libya, and that the Turkish Defense Minister’s visit is related to this matter since Doha has always been a base for the training of Somalis and a starting point to distributing such fighters across conflict regions in the Middle East.

Last August, a published report revealed that a number of Somali intelligence officers were undergoing training in Doha, in what some considered to be a Qatari interference within the security services of countries in the Horn of Africa so as to exploit them within the Qatari spheres of influence in various areas of Africa and the Middle East.

According to a Libya Review source, Turkey is now weighing up other options, which may include sending a number of Somali officers to support the GNA in Libya.