Source: Nordic Monitor
MOGADISHU — Somalia has, for the first time, sent an entire brigade of its elite Gorgor commandos to Türkiye for military training, expanding a long-running defense partnership that has already produced thousands of Turkish-trained Somali troops.
The move highlights Türkiye’s growing role in Somalia’s security architecture, while also raising questions over the use of Turkish-trained forces amid Somalia’s increasingly tense domestic political environment.
Gorgor, meaning “Eagle” in Somali, was established in 2017 as an elite component of the Somali National Army, with Turkish assistance. The unit’s formal responsibilities include counterterrorism operations, rapid response missions and combat operations.
That same year, Türkiye opened the TURKSOM military training facility in Mogadishu, where it has trained thousands of Somali soldiers. According to Turkish state broadcaster TRT, more than 6,000 Gorgor soldiers have received training through the Turkish-supported program.
Türkiye has also provided Somalia with military equipment and expanded defense cooperation to include armored vehicles, helicopters and other military capabilities. A defense agreement signed in 2024 further strengthened bilateral cooperation, including maritime security, while Türkiye has continued to expand its involvement in Somalia’s infrastructure, energy and natural-resource sectors.
Gorgor forces have played a significant role in Somalia’s fight against Al-Shabaab, participating in military operations, raids and frontline engagements in central and southern Somalia. Al-Shabaab has carried out numerous attacks targeting civilians, government institutions and security forces across the country.
However, Gorgor forces have also been drawn into Somalia’s domestic political disputes.
During the political crisis in 2021 surrounding the presidential mandate of then-President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo, protesters accused Turkish-trained special forces of using excessive force against civilians and of being involved in the killing of demonstrators.
The U.S. State Department’s human rights reports for 2021 and 2022 documented allegations of arbitrary or unlawful killings by Somali government forces. However, the reports did not specifically attribute those incidents to Gorgor forces.
The deployment of an entire Gorgor brigade to Türkiye for further training represents a significant expansion of Somalia’s elite military capabilities. It also underscores the strategic importance of the Türkiye-Somalia defense partnership at a time when Mogadishu is facing both a continuing security threat from Al-Shabaab and increasingly intense political disagreements inside the country.
