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Pirate Propaganda? By ANDREW MWANGURA Somali pirate gangs are known for their creative pressure tactics used to encourage vessel owners into paying ransoms as quickly as possible. While pirates can be patient (the MV ICEBERG has been held for over two years) a decline in hijack success rates has resulted in increasingly brutal actions towards …

MT Enrico Ievoli Freed After Four Months By ANDREW MWANGURA The Italian owned and flagged oil products tanker MT ENRICO IEVOLI has been freed by Somali pirates after four months in captivity and she is currently steaming out to safe waters. Diplomatic and piracy sources told Somalia Report that the oil products tanker was released …

Six Dead, Seven Injured In Clan Clashes By JD UPDATE (20.00 on Sunday night): The fighting has ended with ten people dead, including the guards of the South Korean hostages, after local elders intervened, according to Yusuf Mohamed, a traditional leader from the region. At least six are dead and seven were injured in clan …

Part Two: Land Based Anti-Piracy By ROBERT YOUNG PELTON Last week Somalia Report examined the contract-based attempts (and rumored attempts) to defeat piracy on land. The for-profit projects ranged from robust 1000 man armies with full air, vehicle and sea support like the Puntland Marine Police Force (PMPF) based in Bosaso to Bancroft Global Development’s …

Three Major Contractors But Three Different Stories By ROBERT YOUNG PELTON After the London Conference on Somalia in February of this year, numerous private side meetings in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Somalia have touched off a spate of rumors of who will emerge the winner in the push for a viable …

Three Major Contractors But Three Different Stories By ROBERT YOUNG PELTON After the London Conference on Somalia in February of this year, numerous private side meetings in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Somalia have touched off a spate of rumors of who will emerge the winner in the push for a viable …

High Profile Pirate Leader Garaad Captured In The Operation Just hours after Panama-flagged cargo ship XIANG HUA MEN was hijacked by pirates 14 nautical miles off the Iranian coast, Iranian commandos stormed the vessel, rescuing the 28 Chinese crewmembers and capturing the nine pirates on board. Two Iranian naval vessels approached the ship, following which …

By ANDREW MWANGURA Reports reaching Somalia Report on Monday evening indicate that the Bolivian flagged EGLANTINE is no longer under pirate’s control. Military sources told Somalia Report that Iranian commandos stormed the bulker today. The sources further said that commandos boarded the 63,400dwt, Iranian-owned EGLANTINE and she is now sailing towards the Omani port of Salalah. …

Interview With Abdulkadir Mohamed Afweyne By MOHAMED ODOWA Somalia Report interviewed high-profile pirate turned mediator, Abdulkadir Mohamed Afweyne. He spoke of his concern about EU NAVFOR’s controversial decision to extend their mandate, and his belief that the solution to Somali piracy requires discussion, not force. Afweyne is the son of Mohamed Abdi Hassan Afweyne, one …

Galmudug Attempting to Remove Pirates Without International Support By JD Anti-piracy forces from Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Galmudug are planning to launch attack on pirates in Hobyo area, senior officials told Somalia Report on Friday. “We are planning to remove pirates from the region, because we are the legitimate government and they are pirates, so …