Turkey raises concern for the safety of engineers in Somalia after attacks

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The government of Turkey has expressed concerns over the safety of her engineers working in Somalia following the rising cases of Al-Shabaab raids targeting them, in what could further derail ongoing peacebuilding processes in the country that has been in shambles in as many months.

On Wednesday, top Turkish officials help meetings in Mogadishu to raise the concerns over the frequent Al-Shabaab attacks following the recent explosion targeting Turkish workers involved in the construction of the Mogadishu Afgoye road.

The attack which Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility, left at least five people dead and several others badly injured. Of those who died, two were Turkish nationals and Ankara has since condemned the attack as "cowardly" in a statement that was issued a few days ago.

Turkey’s top diplomat in Somalia on Tuesday held a meeting with the owner of En-Ez, the company that has won a Qatari-funded project to rebuild a 30-kilometer road from the capital Mogadishu to Afgoye in the Lower Shabelle region.

Mevlut Cavusoglu had a meeting with Hidayet Zorlu, the owner of the Turkish company En-Ez, to discuss ways to reduce the risks to Turkish nationals. The company is involved in the construction of many road networks in the country and across East Africa.

According to the report, officials from Turkey have proposed that the construction of the Mogadishu-Afgoye road be stopped. It is noteworthy that the Ankara government has lost engineers and other staff due to militant attacks in Mogadishu.

This wasn't the first time the Al-Shabaab militants were targeting a Turkish company. In December 2019, Al-Shabaab admitted targeting a Turkish convoy within Mogadishu in an attack that left over 90 people dead, main civilians from different disciplines.

Ankara is one of the critical stakeholders in Somalia both social-economically and in the political arena. On security, Turkey is responsible for the training of the Gor Gor troops and the Harma'ad police officers, who have often been accused of being used to unleash terror against innocent civilians.

GAROWE ONLINE