20/10/08 (B470-B) Les informations contradictoires à ce sujet, se succèdent. Aujourd’hui Press TV, après des informations inverses attribuées au GNT, reprend les propos du Premier ministre somalien qui se déclare satisfait d’avoir à accueillir des batiments de guerre étrangers dans les eaux somaliennes pour lutter contre la piraterie …// Somalia welcomes foreign warships. (Info lectrice – En Anglais)

Somalia’s prime minister welcomes foreign warships to fight piracy in Somali waters in a bid to scrap soaring piracy in the Horn of Africa.

In a news conference in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday, Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein stated that foreign forces, which include NATO and Russian warships, are welcome to fight rampant piracy in his country’s territorial waters.

"The warships from NATO and other countries are welcome to fight piracy in our coast. They have our permission because they are responding to our request to the United Nations to help us deal with the menace," Hussein told reporters.

Somali pirates

He also sought to allay concerns expressed by some Somali officials that that a number of of the warships may be involved in illegal activities. The Somali Premier noted that in that event the issue will be dealt with separately.

NATO along with Russia has sent seven warships to Somali territorial waters in order to fight soaring piracy in the Horn of Africa which is one of the most dangerous waterways in the world.

More than 60 ships have been attacked by Somali pirates this year alone, compared with about half that in 2007.