Somalis have resisted efforts to disarm in the midst of the US-backed occupation of the country by Ethiopian forces. On numerous occasions US planes have bombed the south of the country killing scores of civilians.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Wed. December 03, 2008 09:17am
By Bonny Apunyu
(SomaliNet) A flotilla of EU warships will begin anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia next week.
The six ships and three reconnaissance aircraft will replace a Nato force that has been in the region and escorting cargo ships carrying relief aid to Somalia since the end of October.
Although the Nato ships have helped deliver nearly 30,000 tons of humanitarian supplies to the impoverished nation, they have not been able to stem the upsurge in pirate attacks on foreign shipping in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.
Foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the EU warships will arrive on Monday, and the handover with the Nato force will take place on December 15.
Britain, France, Greece and Germany will provide ships for the initial naval contingent, and France and Italy will provide patrol aircraft.
The task force - codenamed Operation Atalanta - will be the EU's first naval operation. It will have the same duties as the Nato mission, including escorting cargo vessels, protecting merchant ships and deterring pirate attacks.
"These tasks will be done with very robust rules of engagement," Foreign policy chief Javier Solana said
EU foreign ministers have agreed to ask the UN Security Council to clarify the legal issues involved in the anti-piracy effort. Ministers said they would also consider the possibility of deploying a follow-up anti-piracy mission to assist the EU ships.
Under the current UN mandate, the international fleet operating off the Horn of Africa has not been able to board ships seized by the pirates in order to free their hostages.
Besides the Nato ships, 10 others from the United States, India, Russia and Malaysia are patrolling the region at present. -AP
Somalia: AU Burundi soldier killed in Somalia
Wed. December 03, 2008 08:39 am.
By Bonny Apunyu
(SomaliNet) A military spokesperson said Wednesday that a soldier serving with African Union forces in Somalia was killed in fighting with Islamist insurgents in the war-torn capital Mogadishu.
The Burundi soldier died of injuries sustained in the clash late on Tuesday near his contingent's southern Mogadishu base, Burundi army spokesperson Clement Cinen said.
"The fighting in the former military academy last night, where our forces are based, left one of our soldiers injured but unfortunately he died later in hospital," Cinen said.
"There were no other casualties in that fighting."
Islamist insurgents often target the AU peacekeeping force as well as Ethiopian backed government forces who regained control of much of the country from the militants in early 2007.
Burundi has a total of 1 700 soldiers in Somalia with the 3 400-strong AU force, which is expected to eventually number 8 000.
Former African leaders in the AU's Panel of the Wise urged the United Nations to form a stabilisation force for Somalia after Ethiopia announced last week it would withdraw its troops by the end of the year, sparking fears of a security vacuum. - Sapa-AFP
Somalia's Prime Minister wants Ethiopian troops to stay
Tue. December 02, 2008 06:42 am.-
By Bonny Apunyu
(SomaliNet) Unless there is an international peacekeeping force to replace Ethiopian troops, the Somali Premier says he hopes Ethiopia won't withdraw its troops from Somalia.
The Somali Premier Nur Hassan Hussein says he wants the United Nations and international community to "avoid the vacuum" and send peacekeepers to back the country's shaky transitional government.
Nur Hassan Hussein was speaking Tuesday with The Associated Press.
Ethiopia has said it will pull its troops out next month.
The Ethiopians have been in Somalia since December 2006, and drove out an Islamic administration that seized control of southern Somalia and the capital. But the Islamist insurgency has grown again and now controls all of southern Somalia except for Mogadishu.- (AP)
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