Give us resources to pursue pirates: Somali leader

The United States pressed Somalia on Friday to root out the pirates menacing the seas off the Horn of Africa, and its prime minister said he could go after them if other nations give him the resources he needs.

The United States pressed Somalia on Friday to root out the pirates menacing the seas off the Horn of Africa, and its prime minister said he could go after them if other nations give him the resources he needs.

HT Image

That could open the way for more missions to hunt down the pirates inside the lawless country, actions that have been authorised by the United Nations but rarely carried out.

Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke told The Associated Press that his piracy-fighting plan will be ready next week in time for an international conference on Somalia in Brussels.

Also on Thursday, a US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Somali pirate captured during the standoff over an American ship's captain taken hostage will be brought to New York to face trial.

The suspect, identified as Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, was taken aboard a US Navy ship shortly before Navy SEAL snipers killed the three remaining pirates holding Capt Richard Phillips hostage on a lifeboat launched from his cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama.

The international community is grappling with how to confront escalating attacks off the Horn of Africa by larger, bolder and better-armed pirate gangs who menace one of the world's busiest sea routes, especially after Philip's dramatic rescue after being held for five days by pirates.