| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| Pirates attack six more ships off Somalia |
| 2008-10-08 |
| (SomaliNet) According to data from NATO, pirates have attacked six more vessels off the coast of Somalia in just the past week. The now-infamous, weapons-clogged MV Faina remains in pirates' hands. And international tensions are ratcheting up by the day. The latest attacks bring the total number of "piracy-related incidents" in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast to 93. A dozen vessels are currently being held for ransom. "Larger cargo/oil/gas/chemical tankers" are now the pirates' favorite target. The idea isn't just to make money off of a single attack. Often, the vessels are being hijacked "with the sole intention of using them" as "mother ships," to launch more small-boat strikes. Often, the Islamic militants battling the Somali government benefit from the operations. The Al Shabaab group "received a five per cent cut of the $1.5 million paid out for a Spanish ship released several months ago," the Telegraph reports. But this time, the pirates allegedly dissed the insurgents. "Al Shabaab wanted some weapons from the MV Faina but the pirates rejected their demands," an unnamed local official tells the paper. Maybe that's because there's now a Russian frigate closing in on the hijacked vessel "and a half-dozen U.S. warships within shouting distance," as the AP notes. What exactly happens next is anyone's guess. "They have enough guns to fight for another 20 years," Ted Dagne, a Somalia analyst in Washington, tells the AP. "And there is no way to win a battle when the other side is in a suicidal mindset." Plus, they've got hostages. Last week, however, the pirates seemed game to negotiate for the ship. But now, the Kenyan government has arrested the man at the center of the talks. Officials accused Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers Assistance Program over being overly-cozy with the pirates. "Critics of the arrest, however, say Mr. Mwangura was arrested because he revealed that the hijacked arms were bound for Southern Sudan, which is under a UN arms embargo, and not Kenya," AllAfrica.com notes. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Splice deh MainBrace gents. ARCLight! |
| Posted by: .5MT 2008-10-08 17:05 |
| #6 "And there is no way to win a battle when the other side is in a suicidal mindset." Yeah, how'd that work out for the Japanese? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-10-08 16:52 |
| #5 Just one six-ship ARCLIGHT strike, just one... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-10-08 15:33 |
| #4 "Plus, they've got hostages." (boom) Hostages? What hostages? |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-10-08 12:08 |
| #3 Plus, they are criminals, not islamonuts. They operate on the basis of gain, not martyrdom. They want to live as much as you or I do. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-10-08 12:03 |
| #2 Ted Dagne, a Somalia analyst in Washington, tells the AP. "And there is no way to win a battle when the other side is in a suicidal mindset." Plus, they've got hostages. I thought we did just that all the time in Iraq and Afghanistan??? So we should give up and go home? This guy sounds like a real "expert". |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-10-08 12:01 |
| #1 someone had a graphic of the pirate attacks by location... can someone re-link it? |
| Posted by: Abu do you love 2008-10-08 00:55 |