This visual contrast between the official and the parallel, between the state and what lies outside it, sums up the reality of Tripoli today: a city governed by multiple centers of power, where lines of loyalty intersect between the government, militias, tribes, and even foreign capitals.

In one of the quietest yet most effective shifts in Turkish foreign policy, Hakan Fidan, the head of Ankara’s diplomacy, is leading a strategic expansion of his country’s presence in Africa.

Unlike other colonial powers such as France, Turkiye has succeeded in strengthening its presence on the African continent as a strategic partner.

Egypt's latest pursuit of Turkiye followed Ethiopia's threat to the security of both Egypt and Somalia by negotiating with the Somaliland government to establish a military base on the Red Sea.

Due to lack of recognition of its independence, there are no foreign embassies in the separatist region of the Horn of Africa even though Britain maintained a representative office there for years.