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Reply With QuoteAbout time! Glad to see proportionate action taken on a clearly justified cause. Wonder if other countries will be conducting similar operations soon.
This is a discussion on EU Forces Attack Somali Pirates within the World Armed Forces forums, part of the World Strategic Defence Area category; EU force strikes Somali pirate land base - Yahoo! News A helicopter gunship swooped over the Somali coast to strike ...
The Last Jedi
EU force strikes Somali pirate land base - Yahoo! News
A helicopter gunship swooped over the Somali coast to strike at a pirate stronghold Tuesday in a major escalation of an international effort to protect vital shipping lanes.
The helicopter lifted off from one of several ships in an EU armada offshore, blasting a stockpile of pirate skiffs on a beach in Somalia's central Galmudug region in the dead of night, officials said.
It marks the first time an international naval force sent to protect the approaches to the Red Sea have struck at pirate assets on land after years of trying to prevent attacks at sea.
"We believe this action by the EU Naval Force will further increase the pressure on, and disrupt pirates' efforts to get out to sea to attack merchant shipping and dhows," said the EU force's commander, Rear Admiral Duncan Potts.
NATO and European Union warships has battled pirates at sea since 2008, but the EU decided to step up the fight in March by authorising strikes on assets stored on land.
They police an area 1.5 times the size of Europe, highlighting the challenge to stop pirates using small fast skiffs, grappling hooks and rocket-propelled grenades to hijack ships and take hostages for ransom.
The new EU mandate allows warships or aircraft to fire at fuel barrels, boats, trucks or other equipment stowed on beaches, but it is not aimed at hitting the pirates themselves. It also bars the deployment of land troops.
"The local Somali people and fishermen -- many of whom have suffered so much because of piracy in the region, can be reassured that our focus was on known pirate supplies and will remain so in the future," Potts said.
The EU naval force said no Somalis were injured in Tuesday's strike and that the helicopter returned safely after the operation.
"This kind of action is very carefully considered," said Timo Lange, a spokesman for the EU mission.
The EU's Operation Atalanta has deployed between five and 10 warships off the Somali coast since 2008 to escort humanitarian aid shipments and thwart pirate raids on commercial vessels using the busy sea route.
A spokesman refused to disclose the nationality of the helicopter used in the attack, but nine EU warships are currently deployed by France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and The Netherlands.
Several other nations, including Russia and China, also provide protection for their ships as they pass through the busy shipping route through the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
The EU says eight vessels and 235 sailors are currently still held hostage.
"The EU is working with Somali, regional and international partners to combat the scourge of piracy in the oceans off the coast of East Africa," said a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
"Piracy continues to adversely affect shipping in the region, threatening peaceful commerce, weakening and undermining the economy of neighbouring countries," the spokesman said.
Somali attacks cost the world nearly $7 billion (5.5 billion euros) in 2011, including more than $2 billion for military operations, armed guards and equipment to protect ships, according to the US-based Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.
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Member
About time! Glad to see proportionate action taken on a clearly justified cause. Wonder if other countries will be conducting similar operations soon.
Senior Member
Beat me to it. I was going to post the story too.Originally Posted by bd popeye
We need to cut off the head of this snake and I applaud the EUs actions.
Perhaps they will us US and Chinese assetts to help, either logistically or to fill in for what they are doing in terms of escort and over watch.
Here's another article with a little more detail:
EU Carries out Strikes on Somali targets onshore
Clearly, the Tigre attack helo gunships are coming off that French LPH and this article also mentions aircraft which could possible be coming from the French carrier if it is still in the area.
Here's another couple of nice pics:
Member
That sounds like a French mission, the French are very aggressive when it comes to military operations in Africa. Tiger helicopters flying off the deck of an LHD for attacks was pioneered in last year's Libyan Civil War if I recall. Good for the EU, they are showing they have the ability and will to conduct remote, offensive operations on their own, for the first time since their colonial periods.
I wonder if the Chinese will take note of this operation and see it as paving the way for China to try the same thing. Goodness knows the PLA/PLAN can use all the experience it can get, and the Somalia piracy mission is full of opportunities to try out new hardware and missions for real.
Junior Member
If they deploy an LPD again for the 12th flotilla, that may be a good indication.
Banned Idiot
Great, we won't just see ships being seized, we'll now also see decapitations and murdering of sailors now. What a smart move, killing pirates and now endangering the lifes of tens of thousands of sailors.
They should learn from China, instead of sending in guns and swords, helping people get a better life is much more efficient than murdering them all. These pirates are forced into life of crime because of their hardships in life. All they wanted were money. During the seize, they respected the hostages and looked after them. It wasn't until the death of several pirates that they turned violent.
If you build up the local infrastructure and gave people jobs, then why else would they risk their own life hijacking ships? Killing them will only worsen the problem and cause more deaths.
New Member
Finally! someone has the balls to do it. I say we put mines along the entire Somali coast completely stop any ships from going to sea. Anyone catch sailing from Somali coast will be feed to sharks.
Junior Member
So what if you happen to be a legitimate Somali fisherman?
New Member
God helps those who helps themselves, move to another country, or work with the foreign forces to get rid of pirates.
Last edited by PhageHunter; 05-15-2012 at 04:38 PM.
Junior Member
The new EU mandate allows warships or aircraft to fire at fuel barrels, boats, trucks or other equipment stowed on beaches, but it is not aimed at hitting the pirates themselves. It also bars the deployment of land troops.
The EU luckily doesn't see it that way.
New Member
Whatever works, as long as the piracy is down, it will have my vote.
Banned Idiot
This will only fuel further escalation of the problem. Now instead of wanting money, they probably will decapitate few sailors along the way. The more you kill their brothers and comrades, the more sailors they will chop up.
Senior Member
野火烧不尽，春风吹又生。
Fighting pirates is like fighting weed. You need to fix the underlying cause, or it will simply sprout up again shortly after.
Member
But hey, they means endless fighting and lots of opportunities for navies to get combat experience. A naval commander must make the best of the situation handed to it by the civilian leaders. The PLAN should be thankful it has been handed an opportunity to test its ships and people against a global public enemy ad infinitum.Fighting pirates is like fighting weed. You need to fix the underlying cause, or it will simply sprout up again shortly after.
Banned Idiot
Only it's good when you don't have merchants in the area. But if you do have lots of them in the area, in this case, China really does, then it is a huge pain in the ass. Maybe you do get to practice live rounds on those pirates like the colonialists did on bushmen, but does it worth it if you lose a few big cargo ships? The hijacked Saudi supertanker MV Sirius Star, itself worth $150 million and another $100 million of crude under full load (probably close to 150mil at current price). If it was a container ship carrying high tech merchandise from Asia, it could easily worth few hundred million to more than a billion. Then what do you do? If the pirates go mad and sink the ship (actually pretty easy, just open up those water-gates? doors? in the bottom of the hull), then what do you do?
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