File image.
Turkey has shipped American-Made main battle tanks to Somalia, videos posted to social networks on February 13 revealed.
The footage shows M48 and M60 tanks in Mogadishu, at and close to the port of the Somali capital, which recently received two Turkish Navy vessels: the TCG Sancaktar, a Bayraktar-class tank landing ship, and the TCG Gökova, a G-class frigate.
Observers estimated that around a dozen tanks were delivered, but the number is likely larger as a Bayraktar-class tank landing ship can carry up to 18 or even 20 tanks.
The M48 and M60 were both first produced in the 1950s. With 105 mm guns and light armor, they are both considered outdated. The Turkish military possesses more than 750 M48s, and around 650 M60s. Many of these tanks were extensively upgraded, but the ones delivered to Somalia appear to be of the older M48A5T2 and M60A3 TTS versions.
The tanks are clearly destined to the Somali military, and while they are old they will still be a major addition to the country’s arsenal, which does not currently include such heavy weapons.
The delivery came just a few weeks after Turkey deployed American-made F-16 fighter jets at Aden Adde International Airport near Mogadishu.
The Turkish military trained thousands of Somali soldiers both in Turkey and at its Mogadishu base, known as Turksom, to fight Al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups, over the past decade or so. It also deployed combat drones, such as the TB2 Bayraktar and Akinci, in the country. Last year, it was also reported that three T129 Atak attack helicopters were sent to Mogadishu.
The recent Turkish military expansion in the country is reportedly linked to Ankara’s plans to send an oil exploration platform to the country. The platform will start to drill off the Somali coast later this year. A spaceport project in northern Mogadishu is also in the planning stages.
Turkey is also likely attempting to counter the influence of Israel, which last month became the first United Nations member state to formally recognize Somaliland, a breakaway region in northern Somalia.
It’s worth noting that Egypt has been also working to expand its military presence in Somalia. Around 10,000 Egyptian troops are being sent to the country, half of them will be serving in the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission. The other half will work independently in Somalia’s Hiiraan region, which borders Ethiopia.
Cairo is also deploying AT-802U attack planes, Mi-24 attack helicopters, Mi-17 transport helicopters, in addition to a wide array of locally-made drones in the country.
While Egypt is also concerned about growing Israeli influence in Somaliland, the large-scale deployment in the country appears to be mainly aimed against Ethiopia as tensions over Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam are once again rising.
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nice great.
dump, bibi and putler sacrifice children to demons.
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this also proves why they killed the heroes nasrallah utikan and soleimani.
ramses delivers used condoms to my americunt lgbt trailer park—somali jizz filled condoms very tasty
ramses is your man in the mirror?
yes they’ve plundered europe and asia for centuries norway s still the biggest iron ore mine on earth though. they’re opening an enquiry into clown princess and
epstein now.
africa’s the great untapped treasure chest and after they spent 500 years extracting it elements and minerals they’ll move on over to south america. by then they’ll have polluted the planet with electro magnetic fields from iron and emfs, destroyed the earth’s crust and mantle, like any over farmed region and contributed to attempted death of the only living planet.
and called it progress.
you will pay, all pussians, for all the murdered black kenyans who are dying for your pussia. black kenyan obama is coming back to make you pay for the black kenyans killed. the betrayal of syria was in vain, you will be left without the stolen territory.