Somali Pirates fund Al-Shabab?

[Executive]

http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnLO005723.html

Piracy ransoms funding Somalia insurgency
Sun 24 Aug 2008, 10:32 GMT

By Daniel Wallis

NAIROBI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - An explosion of piracy this month off the coast of Somalia is funding a growing insurgency onshore as the hijackers funnel hefty ransom payments to Islamist rebels, a maritime official said on Sunday.

A record four ships were seized in 48 hours last week off the anarchic Horn of Africa nation, meaning Somali pirates are currently holding hostage four cargo vessels, two tankers and a tug boat, along with about 130 crew members.

The spike in attacks at sea has coincided with a rise in assaults on land by radical al-Shabaab insurgents, including the capture on Friday of Somalia's strategic southern port Kismayu.

The United States say al-Shabaab is a terrorist group with close ties to al Qaeda. Experts say some of the businessmen and warlords who command the pirates are also funding the rebels.

"The entire Somali coastline is now under control of the Islamists," Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters in an interview.

"According to our information, the money they make from piracy and ransoms goes to support al-Shabaab activities onshore."

Piracy has been rife off Somalia since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Experts say at least 30 ships have been hijacked off the coast so far this year -- and the attacks have hit unprecedented levels this month.

"It's crazy. We have never seen anything like it in our years of tracking them," Mwangura said. "They've broken all records for piracy in this region and indeed the whole world."


RICH REWARDS

The main lure is money. Most of the hijacked ships have brought ransoms of at least $10,000, and sometimes much more.

Many pirates, particularly in the northern Puntland region, have quickly become local celebrities, flaunting their newfound cash by building palatial beachside villas, marrying extra wives or roaring around its dusty towns in flashy cars.

And that has attracted many young men desperate for work in one of the poorest countries on the planet.

"Back in 2005, there were just five Somali pirate gangs, with fewer than 100 gunmen," Mwangura said.

"Now that youths who used to work as bodyguards for warlords or militia for the government see the rewards available at sea, our estimate is that there are between 1,100 and 1,200 pirates."

Thursday -- a day before al-Shabaab fighters seized Kismayu following battles that killed at least 70 people -- was the worst day on record for piracy in Somali waters.

In the space of one day, gunmen hijacked a German cargo ship, an Iranian bulk carrier and a Japanese-operated tanker. That came after a Malaysian tanker laden with palm oil was seized in the same area on Wednesday.

The pirates are also holding a Thai cargo ship, a Nigerian tug boat and a Japanese-managed bulk carrier.

Mwangura said the captors of the Nigerian vessel had demanded a $1 million ransom to free it and its 10 crew.

He said there were also reports some Malaysian and Filipino hostages on board two of the other hijacked vessels might have been badly hurt by gunfire. But he said that was not confirmed.

His organisation advises all shipping using the area to maintain a strict lookout for pirates around the clock, and to be especially wary of any small boats that approach them. (Editing by Mary Gabriel)

[sheekh-Farax-zero]

fake news

[AbdiWahab252]

That Kenyan dip.shiid knows nothing about Somali affairs.

[Captain24]

Executive, do you know who prepared this article and handed it to the Kenyan media? This Mj guy in Oganda, all this to haunt the thief Indhacade

This is all fake report. Indhacade don't have a power to get something from the pirates, and even he admitted to that

[Haddad]

This is unlikely, though it isn't impossible.

[GENERAL_SNM]

This is for the western media.They are associating the two issues pirating and terrorism inorder to lay the blame with al-shabab.The goal is to blame everything negative on al-shabab so they (the west) does't have answer to anyone.

[Somalian_Boqor]

Politics A Majeerteen gift

[GENERAL_SNM]

Politics A Majeerteen gift

you have brought shame onto your house, and you call it politics

Your a small time fish doing the dirty work for the war on terror.The Americans dont respect you, the ethoipians dont respect you and finally no somali respects you.Were is this false pride comming from.There are certain things somalis need to understand, putting qabil ahead of country is not progressive but instead backward.But a primitive fool like you would not understand this.

Majerteen wa wada bila sharaf.

[dawwa9]

Majerteens funding Hawiyes-Ogadens?

I don't think so

[Somalian_Boqor]

Politics A Majeerteen gift

you have brought shame onto your house, and you call it politics

Your a small time fish doing the dirty work for the war on terror.The Americans dont respect you, the ethoipians dont respect you and finally no somali respects you.Were is this false pride comming from.There are certain things somalis need to understand, putting qabil ahead of country is not progressive but instead backward.But a primitive fool like you would not understand this.

Majerteen wa wada bila sharaf.

^^^Go cry me a River will you

[The_Emperior5]

why the hell would mejeeerten give lacag to there enemy