Turkish military expanding foreign operations

Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey is increasingly using military influence to pursue its foreign policy objectives, with plans to deploy thousands of troops in bases abroad by the 2020s

1 Syria: Turkish forces stationed in northwest 7 after 2016 intervention in Syria’s civil war to fight so-called Islamic State and U.S.-backed 9 Kurdish militia. More troops poised to create 1,000km 20km-deep buffer zone 625 miles in northern Syria

2 Iraq: Turkey bases troops and mounts frequent raids in Kurdish-held north in effort to
deter PKK militants linked to decades-long separatist insurgency against Turkish government

3 Qatar: Troops deployed at Tariq bin Ziyad base in southern Doha since 2015, with eventual plans for 3,000-strong force

4 Somalia: Turkey’s largest foreign base set up in Mogadishu in 2017 to build presence in East Africa and train Somalian soldiers to fight Al Shabaab jihadists

5 Afghanistan: Turkish troops under NATO-led coalition of more than 50 countries supporting Afghan forces against Taliban insurgents

6 Sudan: Turkey to rebuild ruined port city and construct naval dock at Suakin on Red Sea coast

7 Balkans: Participation in NATO- led peacekeeping in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina since 1990s

8 Cyprus: Northern third of island occupied by Turkey since 1974

9 Mediterranean: Turkish warships shadowing Turkey’s drilling and exploration ships as country seeks to claim disputed energy rights

Naval ambitions: Turkey due to launch first aircraft carrier, TCG Anadolu, in 2019. Ship uses same design as Spanish Navy’s Juan Carlos I (pictured)


Turkey: Around 400,000 active duty personnel
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Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters Picture: Wikimedia Commons © GRAPHIC NEWS