The Threat of Modern Piracy- A Merged Thread

[FastEddy]

Another BZ for the Indian Navy   
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/indian-navy-repulses-attack-arrests-23-pirates/398079/

GOOD FOR THEM, its sounds like they are the only ones that have any B...s.

Or is it just a coincidence that they are always on the spot at the right time.

Its beginning to look like Britania doesn't rule the Wave's any more ?.

Cheers.

 

[geo]

Eddy,
Think it might have something to do with the pirates / brigands operating in India's backyard.

Because of recent events in Mumbai and all the piracyt, the indians have their own self intersts to look after & consequently, their rules of engagement are "liberal" to say the least.

BZ to the INS Mysore.

 

[CougarKing]

The Indian Navy apprehends pirates in the Gulf of Aden Saturday after the pirates allegedly threatened a civilian ship.

The Indian navy confiscated automatic rifles, grenade launchers and other weapons.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...I4-H2wD9521CLG0

INS Mysore

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Its beginning to look like Britania doesn't rule the Wave's any more ?.

Umm Britannia has not ruled the waves for several decades...where have you been?

 

[Colin Parkinson]

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/14/somaliland-offers-port-to-fight-pirates/print/

Somaliland offers port to fight pirates
Geoff Hill THE WASHINGTON TIMES
JOHANNESBURG

A breakaway region of Somalia with a name that is bound to confuse outsiders - Somaliland - plans to offer its harbor on the Gulf of Aden as a base for U.S., British and Indian warships to battle pirates.

In the process, Somaliland hopes to raise its international profile and ultimately advance its campaign to become an independent nation that is recognized worldwide.

"This crisis is not going to go away by itself, but we can solve it," Somaliland President Dahir Rayale Kahin told The Washington Times by telephone.

"We will place the deep-water port of Berbera at the disposal of the U.S., British, Indian and other navies, but our [proposal] goes well beyond that," Mr. Kahin said.

Somaliland consists of the northern leg of Somalia, which was cobbled together from former British and Italian colonies.

Somaliland declared independence from a dysfunctional Somali government in 1991. Since then, it has stayed out of the international spotlight.

It avoided the famine and violence that first made Somalia a household name with the 1992-93 U.S. invasion. It also remained unaffected by the near-takeover by the rest of the country by Islamic militants, which prompted an invasion by Ethiopian troops in 2006.

Mr Kahin said now is not the time to discuss sovereignty for Somaliland.

"The piracy problem is far greater in the short term than any talk of flags and embassies," he said.

He said he has no doubt that recognition will eventually come to Somaliland, as it did for Kosovo, the Balkan enclave that gained independence earlier this year.

"But unless we are bold in our approach to this undeclared war at sea, sooner or later we will have a tragedy," Mr. Kahin said.

The proposal being developed by the government of Somaliland will recommend cooperation among key stakeholders, including the United States, and will center on the port of Berbera on the Gulf of Aden's coast at the entrance to the Red Sea.

Mr. Kahin said his government had yet to finalize the strategy and make a formal submission to other countries, but that preliminary plans include five main points:

• Berbera would be the hub of operations, given that it is close to the affected area and large enough to host the vessels being used to fight the pirates.

• The port would be available as a "safe house" to any vessel - merchant, military or private - whose captain believed his ship was vulnerable to attack. Naval vessels would be welcome to escort these craft in and out of the harbor.

• Somaliland would help set up a pool of shared intelligence with other nations whose ships were at risk.

• Somaliland would receive and hold captured pirates pending their prosecution or extradition. International prosecutors, human rights groups and lawyers to defend the pirates would have access to the prisoners.

• Somaliland would seek help in setting up a 24-hour early warning system that would alert all shipping in the area when pirates were active.

A U.S. State Department official declined to comment on the proposal. The official, who was not authorized to speak for attribution, said the United States continues to search for the most effective way to end pirate attacks.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is set to urge the U.N. Security Council this week to approve a U.S.-backed resolution that would authorize attacks on pirate bases on land and air, as well as by sea.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told a regional security forum in Bahrain on Saturday that the commercial shipping industry could do more to protect itself.

"Companies and ships must be more vigilant about staying within approved traffic corridors," he said.

Commercial ships also should "speed up" and try to outrun pirates and "pull up the ladders," so pirates cannot board. "This is not rocket science," Mr. Gates said.

At the same time, Mr. Gates said, the United States does not have enough intelligence to pinpoint and attack the "two or three families or clans in Somalia that account for most of this activity."

Pirates have attacked about 100 ships this year and captured about half, including a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of oil. The pirates, estimated to number about 1,500, are thought to have made more than $30 million in ransom payments, according to an estimate by the Associated Press.

On Saturday, the Indian navy said it captured 23 pirates who threatened one freighter, and a German military helicopter chased away pirate speedboats threatening to attack another freighter.

Mr. Kahin stressed that the plan would be in addition to operations already in place across the region.

"We are not taking anything away from the huge effort already made by our friends in Kenya, India, the European Union and the U.S., along with some of our neighbors," he said. "But we have unique advantages in Somaliland, notably that of language and location. We speak the same Somali language as the pirates and they operate in our back yard."

Most of the pirates are based in another Somali enclave known as Puntland, which lies between Somaliland and the war-ravaged south - where Ethiopian troops prop up a pro-Western government in Baidoa, and Islamic militants control just about everything else, including the nominal capital of Mogadishu.

In colonial times, Berbera was a vital link in a chain of ports that allowed the British Royal Navy to dominate the sea route to India. Somaliland has 450 miles of coast facing the Gulf of Aden.

In the 1970s, the Soviet Union developed close ties with the region and used Berbera as a naval and missile base. The runway - one of the longest in the world - was built by the United States as an emergency landing strip for the space shuttle.

After independence in 1960, the former British Somaliland joined voluntarily the Italian-ruled Somali territory to the south, creating the republic of Somalia. In 1991, after years of civil war, an interim administration revoked the union and declared itself the Republic of Somaliland.

No country has formally recognized the new nation, but most nations in Africa, along with the U.S. and much of Europe, offer standard diplomatic courtesy to visiting members of the government based in its capital, Hargeisa.

• Barbara Slavin contributed to this report from Bahrain.

 

[OldSolduer]

Out next AOR could be Somalia. That is a very different kettle of fish.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

The Indian navy confiscated automatic rifles, grenade launchers and other weapons.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...I4-H2wD9521CLG0

The closest weapon in the above picture looks like a Stoner can anyone verify or not if it is one?

 

[NL_engineer]

From reading the above report, it looks like Somaliland is using the pirate problem as a bid for international recognition as a state.  They have made some good offers to help combat the problem, but they didn't say what they want in return.

I took a quick look at the port using Google Earth.  The port looks to be decent size (1.3 km wide by 2.4 km long) but it is sounded by a town, so any nation using the port, or setting up a base in the port would have to bring in security forces, and may have to upgrade existing infrastructure.

just my 2 cents worth

 

[chrisf]

The closest weapon in the above picture looks like a Stoner can anyone verify or not if it is one?

Probably an AR-18.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-18 Note it's connection to the IRA, not at all odd it would end up in a third world country.

 

[geo]

, but they didn't say what they want in return.

What they want ???

Recognition, trade, business, grow their economy AND possibly a bit of protection from the remainder of Somalia

 

[NL_engineer]

What they want ???

Recognition, trade, business, grow their economy AND possibly a bit of protection from the remainder of Somalia

That's what I figured, but it is still only an assumption.

 

[1feral1]

The closest weapon in the above picture looks like a Stoner can anyone verify or not if it is one?

Methinks that is a SAR-80 made in Singapore, similar to a AR-18/180.

Back in about 1996, I destroyed a SAR-80 captured in Somalia, but I fired it first. I was in rough shape but still functioned well.

Here is the poop on the CIS SAR-80:

"During 1970s Singapore Army used US-designed M16A1 assault rifles. In 1976, a company called CIS (Charter Industries of Singapore , now ST Kinetics), began to develop its own assult rifle with aim to supply these rifles for singapore military and for foreign countries. To save the time CIS invited some engineers from British company Sterling Armament, who used to manufacture US-designed Armalite AR-18 assult rifle, so new Singapore rifle heavily borrowed from original AR-18 design. First prototypes came out in 1978 and the final design was approved by Singapore military in 1984 under the name of SAR-80. This rifle was used to some extent by Singapore Army and also was exported to some cuntries, including Croatia.

SAR-80 is a gas operated, selective fire weapon of simple construction. It uses short stroke gas piston that pushes the massive bolt carrier with rotating bolt. The bolt carrier rides on two guide rods. Each rod has a recoil spring around it, gas piston rod has its own return spring. The receiver is made from steel stampings. Pistol grip, handguards and buttstock are made from plastic. SAR-80 uses M16-style magazines. Gas drive has gas regulator that can be cut off completely to safely lauch rifle grenades from the muzzle."

Cheers,

Wes

EDIT: According to Wiki, Croatia, Nepal and Somalia had purchased qty's of this rifle some time back.

 

[CougarKing]

FILE---Dutch navy Lt. Cmdr Dick Van der Neut, left, discusses with Anton van Koldam, second right, the Dutch captain of Dutch cargo ship MV Jumbo Javelin their journey on Monday Dec. 8, 2008. Dutch warship De Ruyter was escorting the MV Jumbo Javelin through the Gulf of Aden, which has become the world's top piracy hotspot this year. Pirates have made an estimated $30 million hijacking ships for ransom this year, seizing 40 vessels off Somalia's 1,880-mile coastline. Fourteen ships remain held along with more than 250 crew members, according to maritime officials.
(AP Photo/Tom Maliti, file)

-Dutch cargo ships the MV Stolt Innovation, in the foreground, and the MV Stolt Helluland, in the background, seen from the rear of Dutch warship de Ruyter in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008. De Ruyter was escorting the two ships and another Dutch cargo ship, the MV Jumbo Javelin, through the Gulf of Aden, which has become the world's top piracy hotspot this year.  (AP Photo/Tom Maliti, file)

An F5 Jet fighter takes to the sky from Mombasa's Moi International Airport Monday, Dec. 15, 2008, which will join surveillance duties to combat pirates. Kenya's military held a press conference at the Moi International Airport Monday, Dec. 15, 2008, briefing the media over their surveillance of pirates along the Kenyan Coastal line and waters to the South of Somali. The military command announced that Kenyan Air Force jet fighters will be used along with Navy warships to patrol against pirates who persist in hijacking cargo ships along the Somali coastline.
(AP Photo)

A handout picture from the French defence ministry in April 2008 shows a French naval boat off the Somali coast. Piracy in the Gulf of Aden will only be defeated by a strong government in Somalia, the commander of the French naval operation in the Indian Ocean said on Sunday. (AFP/File/Aurelie Fava)

French soldiers watch the sea for pirates while escorting a ship off the coast of Djibouti on November 26, 2008. Somali pirates have released a Greek chemical tanker seized in October but three crew members are feared dead, a Kenyan maritime official said Saturday. (AFP/File/Eric Cabanis)

A French army helicopter flies over the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Djibouti in November 2008 as part of an assignment of the French frigate Nivose to escort commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden. (AFP/Eric Cabanis)

A German warship returns to the coastal port of Mombasa after patroling Somalian waters last week. The German government has agreed to send troops and a frigate to join European Union-led anti-pirate operations off the Horn of Africa, a spokesman has said. (AFP/File/Stringer)

 

[The Bread Guy]

All shared with the usual disclaimer...

Piracy problem inseparable from overall Somali crisis, Ban warns
UN News Centre, 16 Dec 08
Article link

....In its resolution the Council called on States and regional organizations fighting piracy to conclude agreements with countries, especially in the region, willing to take custody of pirates to put their own law enforcement officials on board as ‘ship riders’ to prosecute detained suspects.

It decided that for 12 months, States and regional organizations cooperating in the fight against piracy “for which advance notification has been provided by the TFG to the Secretary-General may undertake all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia, for the purpose of suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, pursuant to the request of the TFG.”

It also noted that escalating ransom payments are fuelling the growth of piracy, and that the lack of enforcement of the 1992 arms embargo has given pirates ready access to arms and ammunition....

Specifically, from the UN Security Council Resolution (.pdf attached):

....Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations....
(....)
Welcomes initiatives by Canada, Denmark, France, India, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and by regional and international organizations to counter piracy off the coast of Somalia pursuant to resolutions 1814 (2008), 1816 (2008) and 1838 (2008)....
(....)
Decides that for a period of 12 months from the date of this resolution States and regional organizations cooperating with the TFG in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, for which advance notification has been provided by the TFG to the Secretary-General, may:
(a) Enter into the territorial waters of Somalia for the purpose of repressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, in a manner consistent with such action permitted on the high seas with respect to piracy under relevant international law; and
(b) Use, within the territorial waters of Somalia, in a manner consistent with such action permitted on the high seas with respect to piracy under relevant international law, all necessary means to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea;
(....)

Secretary General's statement here - also, more from the Washington Post and Voice of America....

 

[CougarKing]

It appears that the PLAN also wants part of the action; Beijing has announced that it is seriously considering sending in warships to the area to battle Somali pirates and rescue and protect PRC citizens there.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/12/17/somalia.piracy/index.html?iref=24hours

About 30 Chinese rescued from pirate attack

(CNN) -- Multinational naval forces rescued the crew of a Chinese merchant ship from pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, shipping sources said.

About 30 crew members aboard the Zhenhua 4, a heavy lift ship registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, barricaded themselves in the ship's accommodation room as nine pirates boarded the vessel, according to Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan Seafarers Association.

The crew radioed for help, and a coalition warship and two helicopters responded, firing on the pirates and forcing them from the ship about five hours after they boarded, Mwangura said.

Pirates hijacked three vessels Tuesday, Mwangura said, including the Malaysian tug Masindra 7, the Turkish cargo ship Bosphorus Prodigy, with a crew of 11 aboard, and a private yacht.

With the latest seizures, the gunmen are holding 18 vessels.

More than 124 incidences -- attempted and averted attacks and successful hijackings -- have been recorded up to this point in 2008, according to Mwangura.

A multinational naval force, including vessels from the United States, NATO member states, Russia and India, has been patrolling the Indian Ocean waters near the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red and Arabian seas, following a sharp increase in pirate attacks in the region.

Around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels pass along the crucial shipping route each year.

On Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution allowing military forces to chase pirates onto land in cases of "hot pursuit."

The resolution, which passed unanimously, expands upon existing counter-piracy tools.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was at the United Nations on Tuesday for a discussion of the piracy problem and for the Security Council vote.

"I wouldn't be here seeking authorization to go ashore if the U.S. government -- perhaps most importantly the president of the United States -- were not behind this resolution," Rice said after the council vote.

Asked if she thought U.S. troops soon would be on land chasing pirates, Rice would not speculate.

"The United States is part of an international effort," she said. "We do have naval forces that have been involved in this effort. What this [resolution] does is to authorize that the boundary of the maritime cannot become a safe-haven boundary for pirates. What we do -- or do not do -- in issues like hot pursuit, we'll have to see ... case by case."

Earlier, in remarks to the Security Council, Rice described the growing problem of piracy as "a symptom of the instability, the poverty, the lawlessness that have plagued Somalia for the past two decades," adding that the Bush administration "does believe that the time has come for the United Nations to consider and authorize a peacekeeping operation."

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said Tuesday that Chinese warships may join international anti-piracy efforts.

"China is seriously considering sending naval ships to the Gulf of Aden and waters off the Somali coast for escorting operations in the near future," China's official Xinhua news agency quoted He as saying.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Somali pirates launch new attacks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7787536.stm

Page last updated at 11:46 GMT, Wednesday, 17 December 2008

Four more vessels have been attacked by armed bandits off Somalia, as the UN Security Council said foreign forces could pursue the pirates on land.

Maritime officials say a Chinese ship's crew held off one group of attackers until a naval patrol arrived.

But an Indonesian tugboat, Turkish cargo ship and a private yacht were successfully boarded and are thought to remain in pirates' hands.

The attacks persist despite increased US, European and Indian naval patrols.

The BBC's Peter Greste in Nairobi says the latest attacks appear to be a calculated jab at UN attempts to clamp down on piracy.

He says there have been 42 successful hijackings in the area this year.

Fourteen foreign ships and their crew of over 200 are still being held, our correspondent adds.

'All necessary measures'

On Tuesday the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution allowing foreign military forces to pursue pirates on land in Somalia.

A surge in pirate attacks has proved costly to international shipping

Permission will be needed from the transitional Somali government for any incursions. Countries already have powers to enter Somali waters to pursue pirates.

China told the meeting in New York it was considering sending a naval force into the region.

The US-drafted resolution was the fourth approved by the Security Council since June to combat piracy in the region.

It gives authority for one year for countries to use "all necessary measures" by land or air to stop anyone using Somali territory for piracy.

Indonesia was among critics of the plan as it feared the precedent it could set for chasing pirates on land, but it voted in favour.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia cannot be solved by the use of force alone.

"We should not forget that piracy and armed robbery at sea in this region are just the tip of the iceberg of the problems Somalia is facing today," he told Russian television.

"We stand for active efforts to stabilise social, economic and political situation in Somalia which will make it possible to undermine the material base of piracy."

On Wednesday, Chinese sailors backed up by a coalition warship and helicopters foiled a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden, a maritime watchdog said.

The pirates boarded the ship but crew members locked themselves in their cabins to prevent the bandits entering and called for help, said the International Maritime Bureau. The attackers reportedly fled.

Three other vessels were seized on Tuesday.

Pirates seized a Malaysian tugboat owned by French oil firm Total on its way home through the Gulf of Aden from the Middle East.

A Turkish cargo ship, MV Bosphorus Prodigy, owned by Isko Marine Company, was also captured. And a private yacht was seized.

And reference this post . . .

Piracy problem inseparable from overall Somali crisis, Ban warns
UN News Centre, 16 Dec 08
Article link
Specifically, from the UN Security Council Resolution (.pdf attached):Secretary General's statement here - also, more from the Washington Post and Voice of America....

The SC resolution that you quoted (and attached) is S/RES 1846 which was approved on 2 December 2008 and was in essence a continuation of the course of action approved 6 months earlier by S/RES 1816 (authority to enter Somali territorial waters in pursuit of pirates).  The resolution adopted yesterday by the Security Council is S/RES 1851 (it is not yet available on the SC Resolutions index page).  Resolution 1851 basically extends the terms of 1846 to include "all necessary measures" thus providing a degree of authority to undertake operations on or above Somalia and not just in its waters.  A draft of the resolution's language (a well as some summary of the discussions and representatives' comments) is included in this news release concerning the SC meeting in which it was discussed and approved.

(Edited to add)  Resolution 1851 has now been added to the SC page.  The operative paragraph in the resolution (once one gets past all the "recalling, continuing, reaffirming, welcoming, again taking into account, noting, determining, reiterating, calling, inviting and encouraging") is:

6. In response to the letter from the TFG of 9 December 2008, encourages
Member States to continue to cooperate with the TFG in the fight against piracy and
armed robbery at sea, notes the primary role of the TFG in rooting out piracy and
armed robbery at sea, and decides that for a period of twelve months from the date
of adoption of resolution 1846, States and regional organizations cooperating in the
fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia for which
advance notification has been provided by the TFG to the Secretary-General may
undertake all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia, for the purpose of
suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, pursuant to the request of the
TFG, provided, however, that any measures undertaken pursuant to the authority of
this paragraph shall be undertaken consistent with applicable international
humanitarian and human rights law;

 

[Yrys]

U.N.: Militaries can pursue Somali pirates on land

(CNN)  -- The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Tuesday aimed
at combating piracy along the Horn of Africa by allowing military forces to chase pirates
onto land in cases of "hot pursuit."

Military forces from various countries, including the United States, are patrolling pirate-
infested waters off Somalia, where attacks have surged this year. Nearly 100 vessels
have come under fire, according to the International Maritime Bureau, and almost 40
vessels have been hijacked.

The Security Council resolution, which passed unanimously, expands upon existing
counter-piracy tools, including a stipulation that would allow for national and regional
military forces to chase pirates onto land -- specifically into Somalia where many of
the pirates are based.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was at the U.N. on Tuesday for a discussion of
the piracy problem and the Security Council vote. "I wouldn't be here seeking
authorization to go ashore if the U.S. government -- perhaps most importantly the
president of the United States -- were not behind this resolution," Rice said after the vote.

Asked if she thought U.S. troops would soon be on land chasing pirates, Rice would not
speculate. "The United States is part of an international effort," she said. "We do have
naval forces that have been involved in this effort. What this (resolution) does is to
authorize that the boundary of the maritime cannot become a safe haven boundary for
pirates. What we do -- or do not do -- in issues like hot pursuit, we'll have to see ... case by case."

Earlier, in remarks to the Security Council, Rice described the growing problem of piracy off
the coast of Somalia as "a symptom." "It's a symptom of the instability, the poverty, the
lawlessness that have plagued Somalia for the past two decades," she said, adding that
the Bush administration "does believe that the time has come for the United Nations to
consider and authorize a peacekeeping operation."

Asked about reports that two more ships were attacked by pirates this week, Rice said
those show "the increasing problem that this is. The pirates are a threat to commerce,
they are a threat to security and perhaps most importantly they are a threat to the
principle of freedom of navigation on the seas."

With increased patrols in the area by several countries, reports of exchanges of fire have
become more frequent. In one of the most recent piracy attacks, Indian officials said
Saturday they had captured 23 people suspected of trying to take over a merchant vessel
in the Gulf of Aden.

In addition to the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni suspects, Indian navy officials also seized two
small boats and "a substantial cache of arms and equipment," the Indian military said in
a statement.

 

[Yrys]

UN chief rules out Somalia force

The time is not right to send United Nations peacekeepers to Somalia,
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said.


On Tuesday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a UN force
to be sent to the conflict-hit nation. But Mr Ban said the situation in Somalia
was too risky and there was no peace to keep. There was also very limited
world support for a multinational stabilisation force, he added, with few countries
prepared to take part. He had contacted 50 nations - but none had agreed
to lead such a force and only one or two were willing to send troops, he said.

Somalia has not had an effective national government for 17 years, leading
to a collapse of law and order. Ethiopia-backed government forces have been
fighting Islamist insurgents for the last two years, but the Ethiopian troops are
due to pull out next month - leaving only the 3,200-strong African Union
peacekeeping force behind.

'No peace to keep'

The danger of anarchy in Somalia was "clear and present", Mr Ban said, and action
must be taken. But he said conditions were not in place for sending peacekeepers.

"If there is no peace to keep, peacekeeping operations are not supposed to be there,"
the UN chief said. Instead, he said, more efforts were needed on an inter-Somali
peace process and to bolster the current African Union force.

His comments came a day after the Security Council unanimously approved
a resolution allowing foreign military forces to pursue pirates on land in Somalia.
Pirates there are currently holding more than a dozen hijacked ships, while attacks
in seas off Somalia have increased dramatically in recent months.

The resolution gives authority for one year for countries to use "all necessary measures"
by land or air to stop anyone using Somali territory for piracy.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7788898.stm

The time is not right to send United Nations peacekeepers to Somalia,
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said.


On Tuesday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a UN force
to be sent to the conflict-hit nation. But Mr Ban said the situation in Somalia
was too risky and there was no peace to keep. There was also very limited
world support for a multinational stabilisation force, he added, with few countries
prepared to take part. He had contacted 50 nations - but none had agreed
to lead such a force and only one or two were willing to send troops, he said.

Somalia has not had an effective national government for 17 years, leading
to a collapse of law and order. Ethiopia-backed government forces have been
fighting Islamist insurgents for the last two years, but the Ethiopian troops are
due to pull out next month - leaving only the 3,200-strong African Union
peacekeeping force behind.

'No peace to keep'

The danger of anarchy in Somalia was "clear and present", Mr Ban said, and action
must be taken. But he said conditions were not in place for sending peacekeepers.

"If there is no peace to keep, peacekeeping operations are not supposed to be there,"
the UN chief said. Instead, he said, more efforts were needed on an inter-Somali
peace process and to bolster the current African Union force.

His comments came a day after the Security Council unanimously approved
a resolution allowing foreign military forces to pursue pirates on land in Somalia.
Pirates there are currently holding more than a dozen hijacked ships, while attacks
in seas off Somalia have increased dramatically in recent months.

The resolution gives authority for one year for countries to use "all necessary measures"
by land or air to stop anyone using Somali territory for piracy.

If there is no peace to keep, peacekeeping operations are not supposed to be there. the UN chief said.,"


Holy Shit!!! Don't tell me somebody in that disfunctional organisation finally gets it!!

Although he'll likely get replaced 'tout de suite' for thinking outside their box. :blotto:

 

[Yrys]

"If there is no peace to keep, peacekeeping operations are not supposed to be there"
but that doesn't mean that there is no place for soldiers ... Otherwise, how will Somalia be pacify ?

China may send ships to Somalia
...
China said it was seriously considering sending naval ships to the region,
but will first need permission from the transitional Somali government.

The move came as several vessels were seized by Somali pirates off Yemen.
On Wednesday morning pirates were reportedly foiled after attempting to
attack a Chinese-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden - a day after three other
vessels were seized.

The Chinese crew held off the pirates long enough for back-up to arrive,
AFP news agency reported. "Military helicopters came and they managed
to chase the pirates away," Noel Choong, of the International Maritime Bureau,
told AFP.

'Calculated jab'

The BBC's Peter Greste in Nairobi says the latest attacks appear to be a
calculated jab at UN attempts to clamp down on piracy (UN approves piracy
land pursuit). He says they bring to 42 the number of successful hijackings
in the area this year.

Fourteen foreign ships and their crew of over 200 are still being held, our
correspondent adds. Tuesday's UN resolution was the fourth approved
by the Security Council since June to combat piracy off Somalia's coast.

It gives authority for one year for countries to use "all necessary measures"
by land or air to stop anyone using Somali territory to plan, help or carry out
acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.

The US-drafted resolution was co-sponsored by Belgium, France, Greece,
Liberia and South Korea. Indonesia, which also suffers from piracy, was
among critics of the plan as it feared the precedent it could set for chasing
pirates on land. But in the end it voted in favour.

One of the vessels seized on Tuesday was a Malaysian tugboat which had
been heading home through the Gulf of Aden from the Middle East.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirates boarded the vessel
armed with rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons. A Turkish
cargo ship, MV Bosphorus Prodigy, owned by Isko Marine Company, was
also captured, a US Fifth Fleet spokesman said. The container ship is
330ft (100m) long and was carrying the flag of Antigua-Barbuda.

And a private yacht was seized.