Red Sea politics: Why Turkey is helping Somalia defend its waters

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Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud addresses the media inside his office in Mogadishu, Somalia on February 21, 2024. PHOTO | REUTERS

Somalia and Turkey recently announced that they would expand the terms of a defence agreement first signed on February 8, 2024 to include the maritime sector. This came as tensions rose between Somalia and landlocked Ethiopia. Ethiopia is seeking access to the Red Sea through Somaliland, a breakaway state of Somalia. Federico Donelli, an international relations professor whose research covers Red Sea security and politics, puts this defence agreement into context.