Somalia Voices Support to Turkey's Afrin Campaign

'Turkey has a right to defend itself,' says Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad

By Addis Getachew
ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia

Somalia on Friday expressed its support for Turkey's military operation in Syria's Afrin.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad spoke to Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of a meeting of top African diplomats in Addis Ababa who are setting the agenda for the 30th African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government scheduled for Sunday.

"We support the military campaign Turkey launched in Afrin," he said.

Turkey on Saturday launched Operation Olive Branch to clear PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin, northwestern Syria.

"Turkey has a right to defend itself,” he said. “I called the foreign minister of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, and made the support of Somalia known.”

He said relations between Turkey and Somali ran deep.

He voiced his gratitude to “the people and government of Turkey who have been on our side while nobody was there with us.”

According to the Turkish General Staff, Operation Olive Branch aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as to protect the Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council decisions, self-defense rights under the UN Charter and respect for Syria's territorial integrity.