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French marines repel pirates in Indian Ocean
Mogadishu Saturday 10 October 2009 SMC
Marines aboard French trawlers in the Indian Ocean on Saturday fired on pirates to repel a dawn attack, witnesses said.
"Three small launches... (which were) nearly invisible and that we had on the radar at the last moment, chased us," a member of the crew of the Drennac, one of two fishing vessels approached by the pirates, told AFP by telephone.
The French marines on board to provide protection "at first fired warning shots, then they fired at the target," he added.
The French military said the marines had first fired flares then "warning shots in the air and across the bows of the pirates' boats", before finally, when the pirates opened fire "probably with Kalashnikovs", aimed at the skiffs, which "immediately stopped pursuing" their target.
It was the first time that French marines, who have been providing protection since July 1 on board about 10 French fishing ships off the Somali coast, had opened fire on pirates.
The incident took place 195 nautical miles (350 kilometres) north of the Seychelles. There were no casualties aboard the French boats, the Drennac and the Glenan.
A Western source in the same area said the pirate skiffs involved returned to a mother ship some 30 metres (90 feet) long, "likely an old Asian long-line fishing vessel, the Win Far, which has been under surveillance for the past several months when it was anchored off the Somali coast".
A Seychelles coastguard vessel, the Topaze, immediately gave chase to the mother ship and was closing with it around midday, the same source said.
Some 60 marines are involved in this French protection measure, which was put in place at the request of ship owners and is distinct from both the European Union and NATO anti-piracy operations in the region.
"It proves that this measure (having troops on board) works," the Western source said.
Spanish fishing vessels operating in the same region have called for similar protection measures but Madrid has so far refused, saying Spanish law does not allow it and in any case there are not enough troops available.
A Spanish tuna boat, the Alakrana, was captured on October 2 on the high seas between Somalia and the Seychelles with 36 crew on board.
The pirates brought it into the coast and it is currently anchored off Harardere, a central Somalia port, under surveillance from two frigates that are part of the European anti-piracy operation Atalanta.
On Wednesday Somali pirates operating at night attacked a French military command and supply ship, La Somme, after mistaking it for a cargo vessel, and five were captured by the naval crew.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin said Saturday the presence of the marines aboard trawlers "is planned to continue throughout the fishing season to ensure as much security as possible to fishermen."
Hailing the response to the latest attack, he said he intended to visit the region for talks with authorities in Seychelles.
Somali pirates are currently holding four foreign vessels and 111 seamen, according to environmental protection group Ecoterra International.
There have been 174 such attacks since the start of the year, 49 of them successful hijackings. Attacks have been on the rise again since the end of the monsoon season that has brought calmer seas.
Ecoterra says around 3,000 fishing vessels are registered to operate in the region with the inter-governmental body the Indian Ocean Commission.
Ecoterra accuses some of these vessels of fishing illegally in the zone that should be reserved for Somali vessels. It is difficult to tell which country vessels belong to as they often sail under a flag of convenience.
Source: AFP
Somaliweyn Media Center “SMC”
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Somaliweyn Media Center (SMC)
Muqdisho Somalia
Somaliweyn Media Center (SMC)
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