Turkey evacuates its citizens from Somalia amid Coronavirus nightmare

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Dozens of Turkey citizens working in Somalia were on Saturday evacuated from the war-torn nation, it's embassy said, as a precautionary measure to "protect" them from Coronavirus pandemic.

Somalia is gradually becoming an epicenter for the pandemic, which has wreaked havoc in giant economies across the globe, throwing many young countries into a financial downturn just within two months.

As of Sunday, Somalia had recorded 436 positive cases for COVID-19, the second-highest within East and Horn of Africa. Of those cases, 23 people have since died while only 10 recoveries have been recorded, health officials said.

In a statement on Twitter, the Turkish mission in Somalia said the move was "unprecedented" but was only ", temporary" due to the coronavirus outbreak. It did not give, however, the correct statistics of people evacuated.

"We are evacuating our citizens due to the current global pandemic. The team will be back once normalcy is restored. Turkey will continue to work closely with the federal government of Somalia," read the alert from the embassy.

A photo released by the embassy showed dozens of Turkish citizens waving at some of their hosts who had gone to see them off at the Aden Adde International Airport, which is located in downtown Mogadishu city.

The evacuation, however, came few hours after the outbreak of deadly violence within the capital, Mogadishu, in which agitated protestors chanted "bring-down Farmajo" slogans in defiance to President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo's administration.

Police had engaged the protestors in running battles while trying to enforce a curfew within Mogadishu, leading to the death of two innocent civilians. Police have since arrested their colleague believed to have pulled the trigger.

For the better part of Saturday, protests continued without police provocation, as demonstrators lit bonfires in the city. It's not clear whether these violent demonstrations informed Turkey's decision to evacuate citizens.

But for months, Turkey has been a major target for disgruntled opposition elements in Somalia, who accuse Ankara of "funding a corrupt regime". Also, the European nation has been under siege from the Al-Shabaab militants.

For instance, the Al-Shabaab conceded that the bomb blast which left over 90 dead at Afgoye junction in Mogadishu last year targeted "a Turkish convoy". The militants went on to issue an apology to the affected civilians.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, has come out to be one of the most dependable allies of Mogadishu. Recently, Ankara dispatched a consignment of medical supplies to help Somalia respond effectively to Coronavirus.

Simultaneously, Turkey is also involved in the training of Somalia National Army as part of bilateral agreements to help the country build a strong army in the fight against Al-Shabaab. Gorgor troops are trained within Turkey's military base in Somalia.

Ankara has also disbursed millions of dollars towards the construction industry in Mogadishu, helping in the improvement of infrastructure in the process. Most roads within several urban centers are being constructed by the Turkish administration, officials said.

To help combat Coronavirus spread in Somalia, many international and domestic friends have joined FGS by donating urgent consignments mainly of medical supplies. The US, UAE, and the UN are some of the donors so far.

Telecommunication giant Hormuud also announced a donation of $2 million towards the fight against COVID-19 last week. Last month, FGS also allocated $5 million for the battle against COVID-19, reports indicate.

GAROWE ONLINE