EU to deploy mission against Somalian pirates
VALENTINA POP
02.10.2008 @ 09:25 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A maritime EU defence and security mission might be deployed off the coast of Somalia as soon as November, with possible joint NATO or US forces, French defence minister Herve Morin said on Wednesday (1 October) after an EU defence minister meeting in Deauville.
"There is tremendous interest from the EU and any country who wants to participate in such an operation. Ten countries have clearly given their agreement," Mr Morin said, naming Germany, Spain and France as amongst the promoters of such an idea.
The EU is to do battle with pirates off the Somalian coast
EU ministers mandated a general to plan operations and begin a co-ordination with NATO to launch a European Security and Defence policy mission as of November, he added.
"I think it's normal that NATO forces or simply US forces might be involved. There are a number of vessels there that fly the American flag," Mr Morin explained.
The decision comes after pirates hijacked an Ukrainian ship last week carrying 33 Ukraine-made tanks, rifles, and heavy weapons - and 20 hostages, one of whom has died. The hostages remain on board and the ship is surrounded by US warships. NATO also has military ships to the Indian Ocean.
Meanwhile, the president of Somalia, Abdullahi Yusuf, said on Wednesday that he welcomed international intervention against the pirates who have seized over 60 ships this year alone, Washington Post reports.
"I also call on the international community to act quickly on what is happening in Somali waters as well as onshore," he told reporters in the capital, Mogadishu. "We must do everything we can to stop piracy off the coast of Somalia."
The pirates had imposed an "embargo" against Somalia and other countries by preventing trade and food deliveries, he said.
Heavily armed and operating high-powered speedboats, the pirates target their attacks in the region where Somalia's northeastern tip meets the Indian Ocean, a key maritime route leading to the Suez Canal through which an estimated 30 percent of the world's oil transits.
EU foreign ministers already had agreed on 15 September to set up a special unit aimed to protect shipping from pirates off the Somali coast.
The "co-ordination unit" will be based in Brussels and have "the task of supporting the surveillance and protection activities carried out by some member states off the Somali coast."