04 May 2009

Somalian leader defends actions on piracy

Link to Article

Somalian President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has defended his government's response to pirate attacks.

Somali pirates captured a cargo ship north-west of the Seychelles islands overnight.

The Greek-owned ship has a Ukrainian crew of about 20.

A senior maritime official says none of the crew members are believed to have been hurt.

In a separate incident, a Portuguese warship taking part in a NATO anti-piracy mission prevented the hijack of an oil tanker off the Somali coast.

Mr Ahmed says efforts are being made to tackle the problem and progress is being made.

"You know the problems of the sea pirates, they are causing a lot of problems to this country," he said.

"It is important to rebuild the force, the navy, to take care of the problem.

"Efforts are also being made on pirates - every sort of effort - to make sure they stop their actions and become members of civil society. Good progress has been made so far."

BBC

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