Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed

Turkey welcomed a decision by the Somali parliament on May 1 that would see elections held in the Horn of Africa nation as soon as possible.

"We welcome the decision of the Lower House of the Somali Parliament today [1 May], which endorses holding the elections on the basis of the 17 September agreement as soon as possible," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Turkey on March 24 voiced concern over the election impasse in Somalia, calling on stakeholders to resolve their disputes through constructive dialogue.

Turkey on Feb. 21 expressed concern over unrest in Somalia as tension rises due to delayed elections in the country.

"We are concerned about the recent negative developments arising from the dispute over the election process in Somalia," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Somalia's president on Ma 11 urged world powers to help him fight the "raging enemies" of terror, corruption and poverty, at an international conference aimed at stabilizing the crisis-wracked country under his new leadership.

The West has ignored the plight of 14 million people facing famine in Africa, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on April 26.        

Turkey would continue to stand alongside "suffering people trying to keep alive in poverty," Erdoğan added at press conference in Ankara with Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.        

The toll has climbed to 39 dead in an unusually deadly suicide bombing at the weekend in the Somali capital Mogadishu, rescue workers said on Feb. 20, the first since a new president was chosen this month.

The suicide car bomber struck a busy market in the Madina neighborhood on Feb. 19, the explosion ripping through shoppers, stalls and vehicles.