According to investigators, Turkey violated international sanctions on Somalia by delivering armed Bayraktar TB2 drones (above) to Mogadishu without notifying the UN or seeking its approval.

According to the Panel of Experts on Somalia, which monitors the conflict in Somalia pursuant to the relevant UN Security Council resolution, Turkey violated the UN arms embargo by delivering armed Bayraktar drones, which are manufactured by a company owned by the family of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The confidential intelligence obtained by the UN investigators indicated that Turkey delivered Bayraktar TB2 drones to Mogadishu on December 6, 2021 via two Airbus A400M military cargo planes operated by the Turkish Air Force. Yet the Turkish government failed to file for an exemption with the UN before sending the drones despite the fact that the UN Security Council resolution explicitly specifies such clearance before the delivery of any arms to Somalia.

In response to letters of inquiry from the UN, Turkey claimed it had delivered the drones to a Turkish base in Mogadishu and that the goal was to contribute to the fight against terrorism. “Türkiye informed the Panel that it has not delivered any type of unmanned combat aerial vehicles to the Somali authorities and that the systems in question are assigned to be used by Türkiye in the fight against terrorism in Somalia,” the report issued by the UN experts on September 1, 2022 stated.

However, Turkish media reported that Somali officers were undergoing training in Turkey on how to use the drones as early as March 2021 and reportedly took possession of five drones, challenging the official narrative of the Turkish government that the drones in Somalia were intended for the use of Turkish troops stationed there.

UN teams have monitored and registered weapons and ammunition officially imported by the Somali government since the partial lifting of the arms embargo in 2013. Countries that send arms and weapons need to notify the UN and secure approval for such shipments. Somalia has received approximately 27,000 weapons and 80.1 million rounds of ammunition, including some 70,000 RPG-7 rounds, since 2013.

According to UN Security Council Resolution 2607 (2021), the arms embargo does not apply to supplies of weapons or military equipment for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), a peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union in Somalia with the approval of the UN. All other foreign troops in Somalia including Turkish forces must have clearance from the UN to receive arms and ammunition.

Turkey has repeatedly been flagged by the UN in recent years for arms violations in Somalia. A Turkish-based maritime company in April 2021 delivered military trucks to Somalia without informing the UN about their compliance with the sanctions requirements, which prompted UN investigators to launch a probe into the shipment.

According to the intelligence obtained by UN experts, İstanbullines Lojistik ve Denizcilik Limited Şirketi offloaded 44 “Kamaz” military-type trucks at the port of Mogadishu on April 30, 2021. The freighter that transported the trucks to Somalia had departed Turkey on April 15, 2021 and sailed via the Suez Canal to anchorage in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before docking in Mogadishu.

The UN said no notification was received from the company or the Turkish government about the shipment. The panel sent an official letter to İstanbullines on June 8, 2021 asking for information about the delivery in order to determine if it was in compliance with UN arms embargo requirements.

Turkish President Erdogan’s Islamist government has invested militarily and economically in Somalia, built a military base in Mogadishu and helped shady Turkish businesspeople acquire port and airport deals. With the help of Erdogan in 2014, management of the Mogadishu harbor facilities was handed over to the Islamist Albayrak Group, a Turkish conglomerate accused of corrupt practices in Turkey and abroad.