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By Daniel Ooko
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
NAIROBI, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government on Wednesday called on the international community with naval ships deployed around the Horn of Africa to stamp out rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said that the increased incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somalia coastline have taken dangerous dimensions.
"Pirate attacks continue to disrupt delivery of humanitarian aid and are a big threat to international sea-borne trade in the vital shipping arteries of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean," Kibaki told a regional summit on Somalia in Nairobi.
"This unfortunate situation calls for urgent and resolute measures to save the road map towards comprehensive peace in Somalia," Kibaki said.
He said Kenya welcomed the United Nations Security Council resolutions authorizing the use of force against piracy off the Somalia coastline in conjunction with relevant international law of the sea principles.
But pirates have continued to capture vessels in what is now one of the world's most dangerous shipping zones.
"I would like to record our appreciation to our partners who have deployed warships to patrol the Somali waters in a bid to deter these criminal activities. As IGAD Member States, it is imperative to develop a regional maritime security policy framework in collaboration with the international community, and come up with practical mechanisms to enhance security in the region's coastline," Kibaki said.
He said hijackings would continue until there was stability in Somalia. But stability would not come until the security council sends peacekeepers, which it has been reluctant to do in the face of escalating violence.
The new security council resolution passed recently has no time limit but otherwise differs little from the one passed in June. Last month's capture of the Ukrainian ship MV Faina with 33 T-72 tanks aboard -- this year's most dramatic hijacking -- prompted the resolution.
Pirates have attacked scores of vessels this year, reaping millions in ransoms and pushing up insurance costs for boats traveling near the lawless country.
The legally-binding resolution, which the council adopted unanimously, "calls upon States interested in the security of maritime activities to take part actively in the fight against piracy on the high seas off the coast of Somalia, in particular by deploying naval vessels and military aircraft."
The MV Faina which is carrying tanks and other weapons which were destined for the port of Mombasa but the ultimate destination has been a source of controversy with suggestions that the arms were headed to Southern Sudan and not Kenya.
The Somali pirates had issued several warnings for the ransom to be paid or else they blow up the Ukrainian ship but analysts say it was a negotiation gimmick. They have since withdrawn the deadline.
Faina and its 20-member crew, they are demanding eight million U.S. dollars. Other gangs are holding about a dozen ships with some 200 crew members close to the Somali coast.
The African leaders from the seven-nation regional body, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), are meeting in Nairobi to reconcile warring factions, including bringing the Shabaab into the peace process.
Source: Xinhua, Oct 29, 2008