Somali Politicians Fuel Piracy, says AU

(Daily Nation)--The growth in piracy off Somalia is being aggravated by the country’s feuding politicians and the United Nations should send peacekeepers there quickly, the African Union’s top diplomat said on Thursday.

Gunmen from the chaotic Horn of Africa country grabbed world headlines with Saturday’s spectacular capture of a huge Saudi Arabian supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of oil, the biggest ship hijacking in history.

Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, said the increasing piracy was ‘ clear indication of the further deterioration of the situation with far-reaching consequences for this country, the region and ... international community’. Scores of attacks in Somali waters this year have driven up insurance costs for shipping firms, and even made some companies divert cargo around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

Forces from NATO, the European Union and elsewhere are trying to protect vessels on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, linking Europe to Asia. Some nations seek a more robust response and say the hijackings will continue without political reconciliation onshore, where an Islamist insurgency rages. Moscow has suggested international forces should help it attack the pirates’ land bases. A Russian news agency said on Thursday that more Russian warships would go to the region.

Speaking during a visit to Ghana late on Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the alliance was committed to helping improve security on the continent—but it expected African states to take the lead in combating piracy. At an emergency meeting on piracy in Cairo, however, an Egyptian government spokesman said African countries were unable to deal with the attacks and needed foreign intervention.

*The full story on: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/493052/-/147n6w2z/-/index.html

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