Ethiopia urges tougher action on Somalia piracy
Pirates on speedboat approach one of their
mother boats docked near Eyl, Somalia in this
framegrab made from a November 24, 2008
TV footage. REUTERS/Reuters TV
29 November, 2008
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who deployed troops to Somalia to crush an Islamist movement, has urged stronger action against rampant piracy off the lawless Horn of Africa state.
Meles also claimed Ethiopia's arch-foe Eritrea was backing the pirates who have defied foreign navies in the region and increased attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
"By directly and conspicuously supporting extremists in Somalia and exacerbating its woes, Eritrea is responsible for the rampant piracy in the region," Meles said late Friday.
"It is of utmost importance that the international community does more in tackling piracy in the Gulf of Aden."
The Somali Transitional Government said Friday that its forces would not try to retake insurgent-held territories, in compliance with a ceasefire agreement reached with a major opposition faction in Djibouti. People's Daily Online
Pirates are currently holding several ships off the Somali coast, including a Saudi super-tanker -- their largest ever catch -- and have given the vessel's owners until Sunday to pay a ransom of 25 million dollars.
The capture on November 15 of the Sirius Star, a 330-metre Saudi-owned super-tanker carrying two million barrels, sent shockwaves through the shipping world and prompted some companies to re-route via the Cape of Good Hope.
Many experts argue the piracy problem will never be resolved if Somalia's relentless fighting involving a myriad of clans, Islamist groups, as well as Ethiopian troops and Somali government forces is not resolved.
Ethiopia and Eritrea blame each other for the Somali crisis, with Asmara accusing its rival of invasion when it sent troops in 2006 and Addis Ababa blaming it for supporting the Islamists.
Ethiopia announced Friday its troops will withdraw from Somalia by the end of 2008, ending an ill-fated two-year occupation but raising fears of a security vacuum in the war-ravaged country.
Eritrea and Ethiopia also remain at odds over their unresolved border dispute since fighting a bitter 1988-2000 war in which some 70,000 people were killed.