Gulf | Yemen
Yemen deploys 1,000 soldiers to combat pirates in its waters
A total of 1,000 Yemeni troops in 16 boats have been deployed in the Gulf of Aden and Bab Al Mandab Strait in the Red Sea for combating sea piracy, official sources said on Wednesday.
- By Nasser Arrabyee, Correspondent
- Published: 00:30 September 12, 2008
- Image Credit: EPA
- An undated file photograph showing a Yemeni soldier holding an automatic gun onboard an Yemeni coastguard vessel in the Aden port.
Sana'a: A total of 1,000 Yemeni troops in 16 boats have been deployed in the Gulf of Aden and Bab Al Mandab Strait in the Red Sea for combating sea piracy, official sources said on Wednesday.
"The aim of deployment is to enhance the protection of ships and curb the Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Bab Al Mandab Strait," said a source at the Authority of the Coast Guards.
The deployment came after the soldiers were trained on chasing the pirates and monitoring their movements at sea, responding to the distress signals and rescuing kidnapped ships, the source added.
Coordination
Yemen has been co-ordinating with the joint forces of the Horn of Africa, Malaysia and Japan to establish a regional centre for combating piracy and enhancing the protection of the roads of the international navigation in the Gulf of Aden.
A meeting will be held in Sana'a from October 27 to 30, with participation from the countries of the west of the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea. The meeting will discuss the co-operation and co-ordination between these countries to fight piracy.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni government said at a weekly meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday that it would establish three regional centres for combating piracy in the three coastal cities of Aden Mukalla and Hodieda.
About 19 piracy attacks occurred in the Gulf of Aden between April and June this year. About eight were reported in the Gulf since July 20.
On August 20, a Malaysian palm oil tanker, the Bunga Melati Dua, with 39 crew on board was seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
Two days later, three more vessels - an Iranian bulk carrier with 29 crew, a Japanese-operated chemical tanker with 19 crew and a German-operated cargo ship with nine crew - were hijacked in the same waters.
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