EU expands Somali pirate mission to include attacks on land bases

Ships to be authorised to target Somali pirates on shore and inland as well as at sea.

The EU is to expand its seagoing anti-piracy mission to include the Somali coastline and waterways inside the country for the first time.

The expansion of the operation appears to herald a significant shift in strategy for a mission that has focused until now on stopping pirates at sea.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday did not specify what they meant by "coastal territory and internal waters," but officials have said the new tactics could include using warships or helicopters to target pirate boats moored along the shore, as well as land vehicles used by the pirates.

The foreign ministers said the operation, which started in 2008, would be extended until at least the end of 2014. Somalia's transitional government had accepted the EU's offer for greater collaboration in the operation.

"Today's decision will enable Operation Atalanta forces to work directly with the transitional federal government and other Somali entities to support their fight against piracy in the coastal areas," the EU statement said.

The EU did not provide details about the areas that would now be open to its anti-piracy mission, but Somalia's long coastline provides a haven for pirate gangs that target shipping off the east African coast.

Pirate attacks on international merchant shipping in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea have been declining in the past 12 months. Pirates captured 19 ships during the first quarter of 2011 and only six in the rest of the year. Officials say the trend has continued this year.

The EU keeps five to 10 warships off the Horn of Africa in Operation Atalanta. Nato has a similar anti-piracy flotilla known as Ocean Shield, and other countries have dispatched naval vessels to patrol the region.

A Nato official said the alliance was revising its rules of engagement with a view to reinforcing them but that actions on land were not being considered.

The EU naval force is responsible for protecting World Food Programme ships carrying humanitarian aid for Somalia and logistic support vessels used by African Union troops. It also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

Source: The Associated Press