Turkey OKs force deployment extension in Gulf of Aden

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's parliament approved an extension Wednesday of Turkish forces serving in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia and the Arabian Sea.

Parliament ratified a motion extending the authorization of the deployment until Feb. 10, 2021.

Since it was first approved by parliament in 2008, the motion for the deployment has been extended 12 times.

The Gulf of Aden, near Yemen and close to the world's fourth-biggest chokepoint for oil transit, the Bab el-Mandab Strait, is a strategic energy route for Mideast crude oil.

The Arabian Sea and the Horn of Africa country of Somalia are adjacent to the gulf and the strait.