Bartamaha (Nairobi):- The European Union naval force had detained 92 Somali pirates since the mission moved on in the Indian Ocean in 2008.
EUNAVFOR chief commander Philipe Coindreau told reporters in Dar es Salaam on Monday that 25 of the pirates have been sentenced to five years in jail while the remaining 67 cases are ongoing.
He added that Somali pirates have hijacked 17 ships since the mission began operations in 2008. He said the force had rescued more than 365 people held hostage.
Jacques Champagne de Labriolle, the France ambassador to Tanzania, and European Union head of delegations’ ambassador Timothy Clarke both participated in the conference which took place in Dar es Salaam port where one of its naval ships known as Galicia has docked.
Ambassador Clarke urged Tanzania authority to make sure that an agreement that will allow the EUNAVFOR to operate in the country is signed so as to tackle the problem which has affected Tanzania economy directly.
“We held a meeting with the Tanzania deputy Attorney General today (yesterday) and we are expecting to hold a meeting with the Attorney General tomorrow (Today) so that we can develop a common ground from which our forces will be allowed to patrol Tanzania waters…I urge them to make sure that we will reach an agreement soon enough,” Clarke said.
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Source:- African News.
