The Turkish-Qatari Trap

Qatar and Turkey are said to be selecting more than 5,000 mercenaries from Somalia to fight in Libya's civil war and are also planning to send Somali officers to continue supporting the National Accord Government (GNA) of Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj in its fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA) of General Khalifa Haftar. 

The Turkish-Qatari plan aimed at recruiting Somali troops in exchange for amounts of money and the option of obtaining Qatari citizenship. According to reports, the Somali troops will be sent to camps in Eritrea for training before landing in Libya to fight on the front lines alongside the GNA, based in the capital Tripoli.

As noted by news outlets, this Turkish-Qatari plan to bring Somali mercenaries to Libya emerged after the visit of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to Qatar. It was also reported that Somalia is talking about possible deceptions and promises of money and Qatari citizenship for these Somalis whose destiny is to fight in the framework of the Libyan war. 

It was also known that another 2,000 Somalis could have already arrived in Libya to fight alongside the militias affiliated to the GNA. In addition, many of the Somalis who now join the ranks of the GNA have reportedly granted Qatari citizenship. 

Recently, speculation have grown that Turkey might replace the Syrian mercenaries it sends to the North African nation with people from Somalia. 

In recent years, Turkey has extended its tentacles in Somalia by signing agreements in various fields, which has allowed the Eurasian nation to expand its influence in this region. 

Turkey had already sent mercenaries of Syrian origin and other nationalities to Libya to fight alongside the GNA. According to various media, many of them would be attached to groups linked in the past to jihadist terrorist entities such as Daesh and Al-Qaeda.