UN cites reports of
govt links to Somalia pirates
UNITED NATIONS, March 18
(Reuters) - The United Nations is concerned about the possibility of
collaboration between pirates and government officials in Somalia's
Puntland region, according to a new U.N. report released on
Wednesday.
The report, prepared by the office of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
for the Security Council, said that it had identified two main
piracy networks in Somalia -- one in the semi-autonomous northern
Puntland region and the other based in the Eyl district.
"There are increasing reports of complicity by members of the Somali
region of Puntland administration in piracy activities," Ban's
report said. But he said it was encouraging that the current and
former leadership of Puntland appeared to be taking "a more robust
approach" in fighting piracy.
Pirates have been seizing vessels in the Gulf of Aden, which
connects Europe to Asia and the Middle East via the Suez Canal,
hijacking dozens of ships last year and taking tens of millions of
dollars in ransom payments.
An official from the East African Seafarers Assistance Program said
on Wednesday that Puntland villagers detained an Iranian vessel
though the circumstances remain unclear.
Foreign navies, including those of Russia, China and European Union
countries, have sent ships to the Horn of Africa to help tackle the
threat and the effort has reduced the number of hijackings off the
coast of the virtually lawless country.
In his report, Ban urged U.N. member states in the region that have
"small but effective navies" to join in the fight against piracy to
ensure the regular delivery of humanitarian aid to some 2.4 million
Somalis who urgently need it.
Alarmed by the audacious capture of a supertanker last year, foreign
navies patrolling the busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia
have been taking a more aggressive approach to piracy for several
months.
British forces handed over a group of pirates to Kenya in December
and the French navy took gunmen it had captured to Puntland in
January.
Somalia has said that piracy is merely a symptom of a wider problem
-- illegal fishing and dumping.
Foreign vessels moved into Somali waters en masse after the collapse
of the Somali government in 1991 opened the floodgates to unlimited
fishing. (Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Source: Reuters
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