- Washington “follows with interest” Morocco’s openness onto Africa (John Kerry)Posted 11 years ago
- The trial of South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius opened in Pretoria on Monday.Posted 11 years ago
- USA welcomes efforts of King Mohammed VI in MaliPosted 11 years ago
- Egypt’s population reaches 94 millionPosted 11 years ago
- Mugabe celebrates his 90thPosted 11 years ago
- Moroccan Monarch to Build a Perinatal Clinic in BamakoPosted 11 years ago
- King Mohammed VI handed a donation of bovine semen for the benefit of Malian breeders.Posted 11 years ago
- Moroccan King’s strategic tour to Africa: Strengthening the will of pan African Solidarity and stimulating the south-south cooperation mechanisms over the continentPosted 12 years ago
- Senior al-Qaida leader killed in AlgeriaPosted 12 years ago
- Libya: The trial of former Prime Minister al-Baghdadi AliPosted 12 years ago
Somalia: Piracy, expending phenomenon and a heavy burden for some states
Pirates have seized dozens of ships in the Indian Ocean in recent years, leading several nations to send warships to the area to protect commercial shipping. Somalia has not had a functioning national government for nearly 20 years. Numerous groups of pirates are currently holding more than 350 hostages as well as about 20 ships at various bases around the country.
The EU acknowledges that the pirate threat in the region is “an expanding phenomenon”. There has been a huge surge in activity by pirates, and international navies now have to increase co-operation and concentrate forces to counter this new strategy. Admiral Hudson, in charge of the EU naval force said: “What we’ve seen in the last month in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, the Somali basin, is almost swarm tactics by some of the pirates who try to flood the area with action groups”. He added that “by correctly positioning our aircraft, putting our ships in the right area, we’ve managed to break up, dismantle, and disrupt over 20 of those groups”.
However and as a consequence, the number of suspected pirates in jail facing prosecution in Kenya and the Seychelles had risen significantly. The Kenyan government has said it will not accept any more seized Somali pirates to be tried in its courts. It said the international community had not lived up to its promises to help Kenya with the “burden” of prosecuting and imprisoning pirates.