Somali Pirates Vow Revenge

$$ICE$$ · 04-13-2009, 01:08 AM

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali pirates on Monday vowed to retaliate for the deaths of three colleagues who were shot dead by U.S. Navy snipers hours before in a daring nighttime assault that freed a 53-year-old American captain.
The Navy Seals late Sunday rescued freighter Capt. Richard Phillips, who had been held by pirates on a lifeboat that drifted in the Indian Ocean for five days.
"Every country will be treated the way it treats us," said Abdullahi Lami, one of the pirates holding a Greek ship anchored in the pirate den of Gaan, a central Somali town.
"In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying," he told The Associated Press by telephone. "We will retaliate for the killings of our men."
He gave no details and it was not clear in what way the pirates could retaliate, though some fear they could take their revenge on the hundreds of other foreign nationals they hold on seized ships.
The rescue dealt a blow to pirates who regularly seize passing ships and hold them captive until multimillion dollar ransoms are paid. But it is unlikely to help quell the region's growing pirate threat, which has turned the Gulf of Aden and the waterways along Somalia's coast into some of the most dangerous shipping lanes on the planet.

Pirates currently hold more than a dozen foreign ships, most moored along the Horn of Africa nation's long coast, with about 230 foreign sailors from Russia to the Philippines.
The American rescue followed a similar operation Friday carried out by French navy commandos, who stormed a pirate-held sailboat, the Tanit, in a shootout at sea that killed two pirates and freed four French hostages. The French owner of the vessel was also killed in the assault.
Residents of the Somali town of Harardhere said tensions were growing there.
Abdullahi Haji Jama, who owns a clothing store in the town, said: "We fear that the pirates may retaliate against the foreign nationals they are holding."
But he also said people feared "any revenge taken by the pirates against foreign nationals could bring more attacks from the foreign navies, perhaps on our villages."
Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said the American operation "could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it."
Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old self-proclaimed pirate, told The Associated Press that the three pirates' deaths were "a painful experience." Speaking from the pirate hub, Eyl, he added: "this will be a good lesson for us."
"From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them," Habeb said. "Now they became our number one enemy," he said of U.S. forces.
So far, at least, it has been rare for Somali pirates to harm captive foreign crews.
Several years ago, a crew member of a Taiwanese fishing boat hijacked for six months was killed by pirates, but no reason was given but it appeared to be an isolated incident, according to Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. No reason was given but it appeared to be an isolated incident, he said.
Somalia has been engulfed in fighting and anarchy since the 1991 overthrow of Siad Barre, and remains today a country with no effective government, a nation ruled by tribal clans.
The piracy scourge appears to have evolved partly out of an attempt by Somali fishermen to protect their waters against illegal foreign trawlers who were destroying their livelihoods. Some of the vigilantes morphed into pirates, lured by the large profits they could win in ransoms.
Somalia's prime minister welcomed the U.S. Navy's operation Sunday.
"The Somali government wanted the drama to end in a peaceful way, but anyone who is involved in this latest case had the choice to use violence or other means," Abdulkhadir Walayo, the prime minister's spokesman, told The Associated Press. "Anyway, we see it will be a good lesson for the pirates or anyone else involved in this dirty business."
Pirates were defiant though, vowing the events would not stop them form seizing more ships.
One pirate vowed the events would not stop them from targeting more ships.
"The mere killing of three and capturing one will not make us change our mind," said one pirate holding a German ship anchored in the Somali town of Harardhere who refused to give his name. "We are determined to continue our business regardless of the recent killings and arrests."

they have hundreds of prisoners? I wonder if the U.N. will tell them how disappointed they are..

twinkle toez · 04-13-2009, 06:49 AM

scuse me while I

@ somali pirates revenge

Unknown Soldier · 04-13-2009, 06:52 AM

The problem has an easy two step solution .. arm the freighters that travel those waters and have the US Navy patrolling and destroying Somali boats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinkle toez

scuse me while I

@ somali butt pirates revenge

twinkle toez · 04-13-2009, 06:55 AM

they discussed this on t.v. they said it would onlymake matters worse.. But I agree they should have at least 2 or 3 weapons!

Unknown Soldier · 04-13-2009, 06:59 AM

Arming the frieghters would make it worse ... for the pirates ....

Q. What is the fastest animal in the world?

A. A chicken in Somalia.

twinkle toez · 04-13-2009, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

Arming the frieghters would make it worse ... for the pirates ....

Q. What is the fastest animal in the world?

A. A chicken in Somalia.

this made me

I agree with you they would never get away with all of this in their little man in the toilet boats if we had some armed men on board..

StrangeMagic · 04-13-2009, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinkle toez

this made me

I agree with you they would never get away with all of this in their little man in the toilet boats if we had some armed men on board..

Little man in the toilet boats.

You can't out-run snipers in any old boat if they're good snipers.

Unknown Soldier · 04-13-2009, 07:09 AM

Ever hear about the Somali that fell into a pit of crocodiles?

He ate three before they could pull him out.

StrangeMagic · 04-13-2009, 07:14 AM

I edited my last post. It makes more sense now.

$$ICE$$ · 04-13-2009, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

The problem has an easy two step solution .. arm the freighters that travel those waters and have the US Navy patrolling and destroying Somali boats.

Arming the freighters would have to be the companies choice, some don't want to have to go through all of the paperwork at every port they go to to account for each weapon they have onboard..

The U.S. Navy isn't as big as it used to be..at one time 600 ships, now just under 300 so we can't cover some place 4 times the size of Texas without taking every ship we have along the Gulf of Aden down to the east coast leaving the Gulf of Aden wide open for more pirate attacks.
Obama couldn't get the Europeans to send more troops to Afghanistan so I don't know how he'll get them to send more ships off of the coast of Somalia.