Somali Pirates Suspected Kidnapping Aid Workers October 26, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: Anti Piracy, Chris Mark, kidnapping, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, somali pirates
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Somali pirates are suspected in the recent abduction of 3 aid workers who were working in Somali for a Danish aid group. The group issued a statement that said: “Today, at 3 pm (1200 GMT) in Somalia, three staff members from the Danish Demining Group have been kidnapped. One is a Somali man, two are international staff members, an American woman and a Danish man.” Earlier this month Somali gunmen kidnapped two Spanish staff working for Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) from the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya on October 13 and took them across the border into the anarchic Horn of Africa nation. A Somali pirate who gave his name as Abdi told Reuters from Galkayo that a group of pirates was behind the abduction and the captives were being taken to a coastal haven.Previously, three people had been kidnapped from Kenya by Somali pirates and one killed. As more vessels employ BMP and armed guards it is clear that pirates will simply look for new avenues to replace he revenue they are losing.
Al Shabaab, Somali Piracy link Growing? October 26, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Piracy & Maritime Security, Uncategorized.Tags: Anti Piracy, Chris Mark, maritime piracy, Maritime Security, Somalia
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According to a report in Reuters, the UN stated that the link between Al Shabaab and Somali pirates is growing. This was stated by the UN’s head of counter piracy, Colonel John Steed at the Combating Piracy event in London, England last week. “There is a growing link and growing cooperation between al Shabaab who are desperate for funding and resources with other criminal gangs and with pirates,” said Colonel John Steed. Notice that the statement is less than definitive. During the event last week Colonel Steed was questioned very pointedly about the UN”s position that Al Shabaab and pirates are working more closely together. Additionally, numerous other speakers were definitive in their position that piracy was NOT associated with Shabaab and was a purely financial, and criminal effort.
While there is little doubt that Shabaab is looking for new funding sources, the prevailing opinion among those at the event appeared to be that the UN’s insistence on correlating piracy with terrorism was little more than an attempt gather international attention to the issue of piracy within Somalia and attract international efforts to combat piracy.
Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management 