International

Somalia: UN Extends Anti-Piracy Mission

Par Eldickson Agbortogo
06 Dec 2021 15:17
0 Likes

During a meeting on Friday, the Security Council voted for the extension of their stay by three months, as the country seeks to regain full control of its waters.

United Nations Anti-Piracy Mission in Somalia has been extended by three months following negotiations between the country and UN officials. The mission was extended after a resolution, drafted by the United States, was unanimously approved by the 15-member body. According to the resolution, the UN Anti-Piracy Mission will continue guarding against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia. The three-month extension would “allow for a transition to a bilateral military cooperation framework,” Somalia's UN envoy Abukar Dahir Osman said as he hailed the overall programme as a “successful” eradication of piracy.

The decision to extend the programme by only three months comes after the Security Council said, thanks to a joint counter piracy efforts, there has been no successful piracy attacks in the area for the past years, “Since the putting in place of the years long programme, no attack has been reported for four years,” said Sheraz Gasri, coordinator of the French mission to the United Nations. France has warned that the extension was too short to allow the European-led counter-piracy operation near the Horn of Africa to function properly and risked creating a “security vacuum.”

But the Somalians argue that the absence of pirate attacks in the western Indian Ocean justifies bringing the operation to an end, “The absence of pirates leaves no doubt as to the fact that the continuation of this militarization of our national and territorial waters is definitely an issue not linked to piracy or armed robbery of most of Somalia.” Somalia's UN envoy Abukar Dahir Osman reiterates.