Somali Pirates

The pirates operating off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean are now a serious international concern that requires urgent action. They are becoming dangerous by the minute.

Already, the actions of these money hungry people are causing a serious diplomatic row between Sudan on one side, and Ethiopia and Kenya on the other. This goes to show that the consequences from the actions of the pirates can go a long way in affecting the lives of thousands of people across countries and cultures.

Estimates show that these pirates have cashed in millions of dollars in ransom funds and they don’t appear to be slowing down. There activities are increasing in frequency and their levels of audacity are becoming dangerous.

Capturing a ship that’s carrying military cargo is serious affair that shows that these pirates are capable of far more than we have ever imagined.

What the pirates are doing is that after getting ransoms, they are targeting more and more ships. This is endangering the lives of many sailors and it will surely negatively influence the efficient flow of commerce in the Indian Ocean.

What is now required is well coordinated, aggressive and urgent action from the international community to stop this diabolic act that is endangering the lives of sailors.

Look at it this way: as long as these people continue to manage boarding these ships, they will continue to do so, gain more money, and eventually divert into other criminal activities like human, and drug trafficking.

More worrying is the area in which these guys are operating. Somalia is a very unstable country that has not had a central government for over a decade; and it is ruled by warlords who are accountable only to themselves. These guys can engage in this easy and lucrative business. And after this, they will be able to effectively arm themselves for battle, resulting in more instability and bloodshed in the horn of Africa.

The instability that may arise from uncontrolled acquisition of weapons by ruthless groups that have no regard for the law and human life cannot be under estimated. The instability that may arise can actually go beyond Somalia and affect the surrounding nations.

The UN therefore, requires to act, so that these guys are stopped, because they cannot stop on there own. Nations that have the capacity must unite and start patrolling the Somali coast so that these pirates will be deterred.

One point is that we all agree these guys are dangerous.