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India sez no operation planned against Somali pirates
NEW DELHI: India may have diverted a warship from the Gulf of Aden to the coast of Somalia in the wake of pirates refusing to release seven of the 15 Indian sailors being held hostage on merchant vessel Asphalt Venture, but no armed or intervention operation is on the cards as of now.``Our prime interest is to save the life of every Indian sailor being held hostage...that is the guiding concern for the government,'' said overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi on Monday. The government has been taken aback by the refusal of pirates to release all the 15 Indian sailors on board Asphalt Venture, which was hijacked last September while on its way to Durban from Mombassa, despite the vessel owners having paid a huge undisclosed ransom for their release. The sea brigands are keen on a "swap deal'' with the Indian authorities, which has apprehended around 120 pirates after sinking their vessels on the high seas over the last few months. "The warship which has been diverted, a Talwar-class guided missile frigate, is meant to keep an close eye on the situation...friendly foreign navies have also been alerted as a safeguard,'' said a senior official. Even as the evolving situation is being watched closely, India remains against armed intervention in hostage situations due to the risk of "collateral damage'' among the hostages. "Most crews of hijacked ships are of mixed nationalities in nature,'' he said. "Moreover, the 54 Indian sailors being held hostage are on six different ships in dispersed locations along the Somali coast in places like Hobiyo, Kaduur, Grisbe and others. The minute an operation is launched at one place, hostages at other sites will come under immediate threat,'' he added. In non-hostage situations, however, the Navy is now adopting "proactive and aggressive measures'' approved by the government to take the battle to pirates. The government has also decided to allow armed guards, akin to sky marshals deployed on civil airliners, on Indian merchant vessels to keep the sea brigands at bay. Posted by: tu3031 2011-04-20 |
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