Somali Pirates Move Hijacked Ships After Insurgents Seize Town

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clipped from www1.voanews.com Somali pirates have moved three hijacked ships from the port of Harardheere, which was seized by Islamist militants on Sunday. Witnesses say pirates sent the three ships farther out to sea as fighters from the insurgent group Hizbul Islam stormed into Harardheere, prompting pirates there to flee. The destination of the ships is not known but many of the pirates have fled to another pirate stronghold, Hobyo, farther north on Somalia's eastern coast. A spokesman for Hizbul Islam, Abdinasir Mohamed Afdhuub, says the group seized Harardheere to impose Islamic law. However, pirates from the area say Hizbul Islam had demanded a cut of the pirates multi-million dollar business – hijacking ships for ransom. Somali pirates have made tens of millions of dollars hijacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean over the last few years. The pirates are currently believed to be holding 24 ships with about 400 crew members.

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Warships blasting Somali pirates out of water

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clipped from www.usatoday.com NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An international fleet of warships is attacking and destroying Somali pirate vessels closer to the shores of East Africa and the new strategy, combined with more aggressive confrontations further out to sea, has dealt the brigands a setback, officials and experts said Thursday. The new tactics by the European Union naval force comes after Spain— which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, and whose fishing vessels are frequent pirate targets — encouraged more aggressive pursuit of pirates and the coalition obtained more aircraft and other military assets, said Rear Adm. Peter Hudson, the force commander. The EU Naval Force attacked 12 groups of pirate vessels, which normally includes several skiffs and a mother vessel, this month, more than last year. Half of those attacks were on the high seas and half close to shore, reflecting the new strategy to intercept pirates before they reach deep water and international shipping lanes.

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N.Korean Cargo Ship Hijacked in Gulf of Aden

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clipped from english.chosun.com N.Korean Cargo Ship Hijacked in Gulf of Aden A North Korean cargo ship has been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden just south of the Yemeni coast. The European Union Naval Force says pirates on Wednesday seized the 4,800-ton ship MV Rim owned by Libya's White Sea Shipping and that the vessel is now being taken to the Somali Basin. So far there have been no reports on the nationalities or the number of crew members aboard the ship. Anti-piracy forces are said to be closely monitoring the situation.

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China may build Middle East naval base - Telegraph

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• China may build Middle East naval base - Telegraph

  "n a sign of the growing confidence of the Chinese military, Admiral Yin Zhuo said that the country may set up a base in the Gulf of Aden in order to support missions against Somali pirates. Since the end of last year, China has sent four flotillas to the Middle East in order to take part in anti-piracy operations together with US, European, Indian and Russian warships. The latest mission, which departed from China in October, involved two missile frigates. Mr Yin said a permanent base in the region would help supply Chinese ships. "We are not saying we need our navy everywhere in order to fulfil our international commitments," he said, cautiously. "We are saying to fulfil our international commitments, we need to strengthen our supply capacity." His words, which came just a few days after China rescued 25 sailors from Somali pirates, were posted in an interview on the Defence ministry website. China is reported to have paid a USD4 million (Pounds2.5 million) ransom to free the De Xin Hai, a coal carrier. Mr Yin, who is a senior researcher at the navy's Equipment Research centre, pointed out that the first Chinese ships in the Gulf of Aden spent 124 days at sea without docking, a logistical challenge. However, Chinese ships have since been permitted to dock at a French base. "If China establishes a similar long-term supply base, I believe that the nations in the region and the other countries involved with the (anti-pirate) escorts would understand," he said. "I think a permanent, stable base would be good for our operations.""

  tags: China, Military, Base, Middle, East, End, Times, War, Soldier, Navy, Global, Warnings

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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