December 23,2008:
Somalis have a hard time working together. Both the Transitional National
Government (TNG) and the Islamic radicals have not been able to stay united.
The TNG has split into several factions, and the thousands of trained police
and soldiers have largely deserted (taken their weapons and skills back to
their clans, or whatever warlord is hiring). The Islamic radicals have split up
into Islamic Courts (bring peace via force and Islamic law), and al Qaeda (the
usual terrorism and dreams of world conquest). This lack of unity has led
nations with peacekeepers in Somalia (Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi), to withdraw
them, or threaten to. The attitude is, "if the Somalis can't get organized,
we're can't do it for them." As a result, the UN has stopped trying to
recruit more peacekeepers for Somalia, pointing out that there is no peace to
keep. While Islamic radical groups promise bring (Islamic) law and order, in
practice these groups provide shelter for Islamic terrorist groups and
antagonize most of the people they "protect" by trying to impose
strict lifestyle rules.
About a
third of the population (over three million people, mostly in the south) are
destitute, and dependent on foreign food aid to survive. That aid is constantly
threatened by Somali pirates and bandits. Somalia isn't the biggest
humanitarian crises on the planet (the chaos in eastern Congo is), but it is
the most out-of-control. At least peacekeeping efforts in the Congo are making
progress. In Somalia, things just keep getting worse.
Somalia's
neighbors are suffering economically from the growing Somali piracy. Kenya is
seeing fewer cruise ships, and ships in general are avoiding Kenyan ports,
especially those close to the Somali border. Yemen is seeing more and more
Somali pirates (often with many Yemenis among the freebooters) operating off
the Yemeni coast, and interfering with shipping and fishing. The pirates are
avoiding the growing number of warships in the Gulf of Aden. The pirates use
satellite phones and radio to share information and assist in the search for
vulnerable merchant ships to attack. So far this year, the pirates have
attacked at least 120 ships (out of over 20,000 that pass through the area each
year), and seized 40 for ransom. Currently, 17 ships and crews are being held
by the pirates.
December 21,
2008: China is sending two destroyers and a support ship to join the
anti-piracy patrol off the Somali coast. Seven Chinese cargo ships have been
attacked so far this year. Iran has also sent a warship, as has Germany. Over
two dozen warships are now operating in the Gulf of Aden, guarding convoys and
and most heavily trafficked sea lanes. But the pirates continue to capture
ships.
December 17,
2008: The UN passed resolution 1851, which authorizes member states to go
ashore in Somalia to deal with pirates. There is some dispute over whether 1851
permits invading forces to use Somali air space. That was the result of UN
politics and trepidation among some members about allowing the invasion of an
Islamic state. The U.S. complains that it lacks sufficient intelligence about
pirate activities to send in a ground force.
A Chinese
cargo ship, boarded by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, was rescued by a
resolute crew (that locked themselves in their living quarters and called for
help) and a nearby Malaysian warship, that dispatched a helicopter, which shot
at the pirates and caused the survivors to flee in their speedboats. Three other ships (a yacht, a tugboat and a
cargo ship) in the Gulf of Aden were not so fortunate.
December 13,
2008: Off the north coast, an Indian warship interrupted a pirate attack on a cargo
ship. The Indians then tracked the pirate speedboats back to their nearby
mother ship, and captured it, along with 23 pirates. These men were eventually
turned over to Yemen for prosecution. Initially, no nation wanted to take these
23.