Turkey opens its largest military academy in Somalia

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Turkey on Saturday opened its largest overseas military training academy in Somali capital Mogadishu.

The academy was inaugurated by Turkey's Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar and Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire in a ceremony held at the training facility.

Senior Somali officials, Turkish and foreign diplomats attended the ceremony amid tight security.

"My government and our Somali people will not forget this huge help by our Turkish brothers. This academy will help us train more troops," Khaire said at the inauguration ceremony.

For his part, Hulusi Akar said the Turkish government would "continue to support our Somali brothers until their country becomes militarily stronger".

Located south of Mogadishu, the training facility had been under construction for the last two years.

The facility is spread over 4 square kilometers (1.54 square miles) and has the capacity to train more than 1,500 troops at a time, according to the Somali government.