Middle East & Africa | The call of the south

Turkey is making a big diplomatic and corporate push into Africa

It is sending engineers and soap operas, but also guns and soldiers

Apr 23rd 2022|Ankara and Mogadishu

THE RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN hospital in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, is named after Turkey’s president. It has 47 intensive-care beds, more than any other in the country, but it does not treat covid-19 patients. “If we did, we would have to isolate them,” explains Asir Eraslan, the manager, “and we would not have enough room to treat the bomb victims.” These keep on coming because of an insurgency by al-Shabab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda, and clashes between rival clans.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The call of the south”