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EU Forces in Anti-piracy Raid on Somali Mainland

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On May 15, the EU naval force carried out its first air strikes along the Somali coast against pirate bases on shore. In December 2008, the EU launched Operation Atalanta, the Union’s first operational naval deployment outside of European waters, with up to 10 warships off the Horn of Africa. In Mach 2012, a new EU mandate has permitted its naval force to attack pirate targets onshore, as well as offshore. However, such a large EU naval force seems hardly necessary considering the very small resources of the pirates. When put in the context of international naval rivalry, this escalation could hint at European naval power projection into the Indian Ocean/Gulf of Aden arena.


The Guardian
15 May, 2012

The EU's naval force off the Somali coastline on Tuesday carried out its first air strikes against pirate targets on shore, officials said.

Maritime aircraft and attack helicopters took part in the attacks early in the morning on the mainland, a spokesman said. No casualties were reported in the raid along Somalia's central coastline in the region of Galmudug.

The long coastline of war-torn Somalia provides a perfect haven for pirate gangs preying on shipping off the east African coast.

The EU is the main donor to the Somali transitional government. It also trains Somali army troops, and is reinforcing the navies of five neighbouring states to enable them to counter piracy themselves.

"This action against piracy is part of a comprehensive EU approach to the crisis in Somalia, where we support a lasting political solution on land," said Michael Mann, spokesman for the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.

Since December 2008, the EU has kept five to 10 warships off the Horn of Africa in an operation known as Atalanta. Nato has a similar anti-piracy flotilla known as Ocean Shield, and other countries including the US, India, China, Russia, and Malaysia have also dispatched naval vessels to patrol the region.

The EU naval force is responsible for protecting World Food Programme ships carrying humanitarian aid for Somalia, and the logistical support vessels of the African Union troops conducting operations there. It also monitors fishing activity off the coast of Somalia, which has been without a functioning government since 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown.

In March, the EU adopted a more robust mandate for its naval force, allowing it for the first time to mount strikes against pirate targets in Somalia's "coastal territory and internal waters". At the time, officials said the new tactics could include using warships or their helicopters to target pirate boats moored along the shoreline, as well as land vehicles or fuel tanks used by the pirates.

The EU did not say which member nation's forces carried out Monday's raid. British forces were not involved, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Two months ago, the Atalanta force was joined by French amphibious assault ship Dixmude. The 21,000-ton ship, the largest to serve with the EU mission, is capable of acting as a mobile operating base for 16 helicopters including Tigre helicopter gunships, significantly adding to the reach of the naval force.



 

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