Incidents of Piracy on Upswing Off Somalia, Prompting Concern After five-year hiatus, U.S. military’s Africa Command said there have been as many as six incidents in past two months By Gordon Lubold
https://www.wsj.com/articles/incidents-of-piracy-on-upswing-off-somalia-prompting-concern-1492986518
CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti—Piracy has made a worrisome return to the waters off Somalia after a five-year hiatus, U.S. defense officials said, prompting commercial shippers, the military and others to revisit the issue.
In the past two months, there have been as many as six incidents of piracy, according to Gen. Tom Waldhauser, head of the U.S. military’s Africa Command, speaking to reporters here Sunday. They are the first incidents since about 2012, Gen. Waldhauser said. Pirates seized food, oil and other commodities from smaller-size boats, he said.
Gen. Waldhauser appeared with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who is winding up a trip through the Middle East and North Africa. Mr. Mattis stopped in Djibouti on Sunday to meet with Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh. He also met with French troops stationed here and received briefings about U.S. operations at Camp Lemonnier, a sprawling U.S. naval base here with more than 4,000 U.S. personnel.
The base provides support for a number of U.S. activities, including training and advising forces in Somalia and in nearby Yemen, and is home to numerous logistical and tactical aircraft and drones. The senior command, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, is also based here, the only permanent U.S. base on the African continent.
Gen. Waldhauser attributed the return of piracy part to famine and drought in Somalia, adding private security measures should be kept in place to defend against pirates. CONTINUE AT SITE
Comments are closed.
