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Somalia
backs U.S. plan to hunt pirates |
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MOGADISHU(December
12,2008) - Somalia's government has welcomed a call
by the United States for countries to have U.N. authority to hunt
down Somali pirates on land as well as pursue them off the coast of
the Horn of Africa nation.
A surge in piracy this year in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean
off Somalia has driven up insurance costs, brought the gangs tens
of millions of dollars in ransoms, and prompted foreign navies to
rush to the area to protect shipping.
Diplomats at the United Nations said the U.S. delegation there had
circulated a draft resolution on piracy for the Security Council to
vote on next week.
A draft text seen by Reuters says countries with permission from Somalia's
government "may take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia,
including in its airspace" to capture those using Somali territory
for piracy.
"The government cordially welcomes the United Nations to fight
pirates inland and (on) the Indian Ocean," said Hussein Mohamed
Mohamud, spokesman for Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf.
"We're also willing to give them a hand in case they need our
assistance," Mohamud told Reuters in the capital Mogadishu.
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