Piracy in Somalia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from
Somali pirate)
Jump to:
navigation,
search
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tianyu-8.jpg
Pirates holding the crew of the Chinese fishing vessel
Tianyu No. 8 guard the crew on the bow.
Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to
international shipping since the beginning of
Somalia's
civil war in the early 1990s.
[1] Since 2005, many international organizations, including the
International Maritime Organization and the
World Food Programme, have expressed concern over the rise in acts of
piracy.
[2] Piracy has contributed to a rise in shipping costs and impeded the delivery of food aid shipments. Ninety percent of the World Food Programme's shipments arrive by sea, and ships have required a military escort.
[3]
In May 2008,
Islamist fighters, who are opposed to the
Transitional Federal Government, also attacked pirates.
[4] In August 2008,
Combined Task Force 150, a multinational coalition task force, took on the role of fighting Somali piracy by establishing a Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) within the
Gulf of Aden.
[5] The increasing threat posed by piracy also caused significant concerns in
India since most of its shipping trade routes pass through the Gulf of Aden. The
Indian Navy responded to these concerns by deploying a warship in the region on October 23, 2008.
[6][7] In September 2008,
Russia announced that it too will soon join international efforts to combat piracy. However, the
Russian Navy's warships will conduct operations independently.
[8]
On 7 October 2008 the
United Nations Security Council adopted
resolution 1838[9] calling on nations with vessels in the area to apply military force to repress the acts of piracy.
[10] At the 101st council of the
International Maritime Organization, India called for a
United Nations peacekeeping force under unified command to tackle piracy off Somalia.
[11]
In November 2008, Somali pirates began hijacking ships well outside the
Gulf of Aden, perhaps targeting ships headed for the port of
Mombasa,
Kenya.
[12] On November 19, 2008 The Indian Navy reported that the warship INS Tabar destroyed a pirate vessel after the pirates threatened to blow up the warship.
[13]
Characteristics of the pirates
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Puntland.gif
Puntland area in Somalia
Most pirates are aged 20-35 years old and come from the region of
Puntland, a region in northeastern Somalia. According to a BBC report, the pirates can be divided into three main categories:
- Local fishermen, considered the brains of the pirates' operations due to their skill and knowledge of the sea.
- Ex-militiamen who used to fight for the local clan warlords, used as the muscle.
- Technical experts who operate high-tech equipment such as the GPS systems. [29]
The high profits of piracy is what attracts young men into pirate gangs, and in a country where many people are short of food they lead a very lavish lifestyle with cars and big houses. It is common for pirates to take on a second or third wife from nomadic tribes once they have made their fortune. Despite the ****** fighting between clans in the country the pirates rarely fight amongst themselves, united by the common aim of profit. In a way they have become part of the local social elite, making so much money they can hand out loans to businessmen.
[29]
Somali pirates get most of their weapons from
Yemen but a significant amount comes from the capital
Mogadishu. Weapons dealers in the capital receive a deposit from a
hawala dealer on behalf of the pirates and the weapons are then driven to Puntland where the pirates pay the balance.
[29]
The Indian navy is now patrolling off the Somali coast
)
