17/02/09 (B486) Le journal de la Flibuste / Press TV (Iran) Des drones téléguidés depuis des unités navales américaines poursuivent les pirates dans le Golfe d’Aden. // Navy-operated US drones pursue pirates (En Anglais)
The US Navy in Somalia has started sending unmanned drones to spy on pirates, after the aircraft gained widespread notoriety in Pakistan.
The American servicemen have been directing the drones on a daily basis “to spot potential pirate mother ships”, the Associated Press reported on Sunday.
The US military has also been using the drones to fire rockets at ‘suspected militants’ in tribal areas along the border between Pakistan an Afghanistan.
The attack, which on many occasions, result in civilian casualties have spark outrage among Pakistanis.
The US Navy is a part of an expansive international naval coalition which has put the Gulf of Aden under close watch, following frequent piracy in the region. The armada has, however, been able to stem a few pirate attacks and arrest some of the buccaneers.
The forces present in the region, however, are often accused of acting on their own countries’ mandate rather than forming a united front against the pirates.
If the coalition worked together, piracy ‘could’ decrease said US Rear Admiral, Terence McKnight. He added that the ultimate resolution of the problem depended on Mogadishu and that the country’s political and military stability had to cement until Somalis were able to "patrol their waters themselves."
The official made the remarks while a shaky agreement between the newly-elected Somali government and the opposition has barely let the nation breathe a sigh of relief following 18 years of infighting.
The violence peaked in 2006, when foreign intervention in support of the embattled Somali transitional government was faced with stiff responses from the public and opposition fighters.
At the same time, the country witnessed an increase in the American aerial espionage activities which had started years back under the pretext of ‘keeping track of potential militants’.