The Royal Navy vs. pirates. Only not in the year 1600.
It must have been a century or so in coming. On Nov. 11, the British Royal Navy got into a gunfight with pirates off the coast of Yemen that left three dead on the pirating side. After circling the Somali vessel, known as a dhow, the British launched a small assault vessel. The pirates shot, ...
It must have been a century or so in coming. On Nov. 11, the British Royal Navy got into a gunfight with pirates off the coast of Yemen that left three dead on the pirating side. After circling the Somali vessel, known as a dhow, the British launched a small assault vessel. The pirates shot, and the British fired back. In the end, the Somali pirates gave in -- and members of the British Navy boarded the small ship with the pirates' reluctant permission. Quite the spectacle!
It must have been a century or so in coming. On Nov. 11, the British Royal Navy got into a gunfight with pirates off the coast of Yemen that left three dead on the pirating side. After circling the Somali vessel, known as a dhow, the British launched a small assault vessel. The pirates shot, and the British fired back. In the end, the Somali pirates gave in — and members of the British Navy boarded the small ship with the pirates’ reluctant permission. Quite the spectacle!
Just like times of old, leave it to the British Navy to relieve Somali pirates of the undue hubris they have acquired over the last several months. Still, 12 vessels currently being held hostage, which means 259 crew members are in pirate control.
But Somalia — not just its seas — is also looking more alarming by the day. The militant wing of the Islamic Courts, a religious-political group that ran Somalia briefly in 2006, is gaining territory and look set to reject any attempts at peace that the transition government hopes for. Pirates — with tenuous links to the insurgents — are keeping much-needed food shipments out of the country. The refugees fleeing to Kenya indicate a deeper panic about an increasingly violent and desperate place.
One pirate boat is now neutralized. Hundreds to go. And then, if only the British could bring their royal justice inland…
Photo: Ministry of Defense
Elizabeth Dickinson is International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Colombia.
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