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Monday, March 9, 2009

As world takes stand, Somalian pirates retreat

WASHINGTON Ñ Somali piracy has dropped sharply in 2009 following international efforts in the Arabian Sea and Red Sea.   

The United States has concluded that operations by Somali pirates have been significantly hampered in recent months. Officials attributed this to the international task force in the Gulf of Aden, joined by such regional states as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Yemen.

"Today there are only six ships held hostage, compared to 14 ships held hostage toward the end of last year," acting Undersecretary of State for International Security Stephen Mull said.

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In testimony to the House Armed Services Committee on March 5, Mull said Somali-based piracy has plummeted in 2009. The State Department official said successful pirate attacks from Somalia dropped to 17 percent, from a high of 64 percent in October 2008.

The sharp drop in piracy was also the result of prosecution of captured Somali pirates by neighboring Kenya. On March 5, under a January 2009 agreement between Nairobi and Washington, seven suspected Somali pirates were transferred to Kenya for prosecution.

Officials said the United States would not pursue pirates into Somalia. They said the international task force of 23 vessels has already hampered the movement of pirates throughout the region.

"While we sought authority in negotiations for the UN Security Council resolution to any country willing to take it, we do not plan at this time to conduct counter-piracy operations on land," Mull said. "None of our other coalition partners as of yet have expressed an intention to do that."

But another official, Daniel Pike, acting director of the Defense Department's office of African affairs, did not rule out anti-piracy operations in Somalia. Pike said the Pentagon has been studying the feasibility of such an option.

"In fact, the Defense Department is looking at that, but there is no such intention at this point to advance that," Pike said.

The anti-piracy operation has been conducted by Combined Task Force 151, under the auspices of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain. CTF-151, established in January 2009, and other members of the task force have captured 250 suspected pirates, about half of them were released.

Officials said the task force has seized or destroyed 28 pirate vessels and captured rocket-propelled grenade launchers. They said two clans in Somalia Ñ identified as Darod and Hawiye Ñ were operating along the 3,000-kilometer Somali coast.

"The question is, where will we be a year from now? Will we continue to be effective?" Fifth Fleet commander Vice Adm. William Gortney said. "Will the EU, will NATO, will the other nations continue to be here?"



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