Somalia to let U.S. Navy patrol waters

Prime minister says move an attempt to ward off piracy
BAIDOA, Somalia (AP) -- Somalia has granted the U.S. Navy permission to patrol its coastal waters in an effort to combat piracy off the lawless Horn of Africa nation, the prime minister said.
Ali Mohamed Gedi told lawmakers Sunday that the United States also would help the transitional government set up a coast guard to secure Somalia's 621-mile (1,000-kilometer) coastline.
The agreement was reached during talks with the U.S. ambassador in Kenya, Gedi said. U.S. Embassy officials were not immediately available for comment.
Somalia has had no coast guard or navy since warlords ousted the dictator in 1991 and then turned on each other -- carving the nation of an estimated 8 million people into a patchwork of anarchic clan-based fiefdoms.
Piracy was up sharply last year, with the number of incidents rising to 35, compared with two in 2004, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The bandits target both passenger and cargo vessels for ransom or loot.
The increase in piracy included first-time attacks on vessels carrying food aid for Somalis, hindering U.N. efforts to provide relief to drought victims. Pirates also have attacked a cruise ship.
On March 15, the U.N. Security Council encouraged naval forces operating off Somalia to take action against suspected piracy.
In the past two months, U.S. naval ships have confronted two groups of pirates, killing one person and injuring five others. One group of pirates the U.S. Navy confronted is facing trial in neighboring Kenya.
Three vessels are being held by pirates in Somalia's central region, including a United Arab Emirates-registered oil tanker and a Korean fishing vessel.
The Korean vessel was licensed by the transitional government to fish in Somali waters, but the administration is incapable of securing the coastline, Fishing Marine Resources Minister Hassan Abshir Farah said Sunday.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.