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Somalia warns US against striking pirates
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Somalia's president cautioned on Wednesday against any US strike on the land bases of pirates who have seized dozens of ships off his country's coastline, saying such an attack would have no positive effect. Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmad told a news conference in Cairo that he preferred instead to strengthen Somali police forces to act against Somali buccaneers who have made millions of dollars seizing vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.Asked about a possible US strike, Ahmad said: "We advise against this ... because strikes like these rarely hit their marks."
The brief seizure of the Maersk Alabama and the subsequent hostage drama involving the ship's captain have led to calls from lawmakers in Washington and former military officers for US forces to attack the pirates' bases on land. A senior US defense official has said the United States was unlikely to attack Somali pirate land bases due to the risk of civilian deaths but may help local authorities fight a scourge that has also driven up insurance rates for merchant ships passing through the waterways linking Europe to Asia. US officials are also wary of action that could lead pirates to seek common cause with Islamist insurgents such as Somalia's Al-Shabaab group. Ahmad, who headed the Islamic Courts movement that defeated Mogadishu's powerful warlords and brought some stability to the capital and most of south Somalia in 2006, said his movement had been able to deal with the pirates when it was in power. "The pirates live on land. They don't live in the sea. And we know the people. Previously, in the days of the courts, we with God's grace were able to stop them," he said. Posted by: Fred 2009-04-23 |
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