Somali Official Calls for International Help to Counter Piracy
During an exclusive interview with Alhurra Television, Abdirahman Abdishakuur, the Somali Minister for Planning and International Cooperation, discussed the problem of piracy, proposed the creation of Somali naval forces, and called for international cooperation to address piracy. He affirmed that piracy can not be dealt with only at sea; even more important, the international community must provide the necessary aid to Somalia to fight the pirates on land and stop them from launching these criminal acts. The following are excerpts from his interview with Alhurra Television. (All excerpts have been translated from Arabic.)
The establishment of a Somali naval force to counter piracy
“We, as a national unity government, are trying to deal with the problem in a serious way to stand against this criminal act. The Somali government is now in the process of creating Somali naval forces to confront these pirates in the Somalia