Turkiye extends troop deployment in Gulf of Aden

By Emin Avundukluoglu

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

Lawmakers ratified a motion extending the authorization of the deployment until Feb. 10, 2023.

Since it was first approved by parliament in 2008, the motion for the deployment has been extended 14 times.

The Gulf of Aden, near Yemen and close to the Bab el-Mandab Strait, the world's fourth-biggest chokepoint for oil transit, 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.