Somali Pirates chose the wrong target - a French warship. The pirates, who because of the darkness thought the French ship was a commercial vessel. La Somme was operating about 290 miles off the Somali coast, on its way to resupply fuel to frigates patrolling shipping lanes as part of the European Union's Operation Atalanta anti-piracy mission.
La Somme is the French command vessel in the Indian Ocean, overseeing French air, sea and land forces fighting Somali pirates and hunting terrorists under the banner of the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom.
Apparently the Somali pirates tried to flee when they found out they attacked the wrong ship but were pursued by French forces who caught one of the skiffs. On it they found five men but no weapons, water or food as the pirates had apparently thrown all of the boat's contents overboard, the spokesman said.
Most Somali pirates are aged 20–35 years old and come from the region of Puntland, a region in northeastern Somalia. The East African Seafarers' Association estimates that there are at least five pirate gangs and a total of 1,000 armed men.
Last year, more than 130 merchant ships were attacked, an increase of more than 200 percent on 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center.
Somali pirates have taken advantage of the end of the monsoon season and have resumed attacks. The US Maritime Administration warned last month that the end of the monsoon season was likely to bring an increase in piracy off Somalia and urged shipping companies to be on the look-out for pirates. The error the pirates made in choosing the wrong target, the French Warship Lasomme, may have taught them to consider stopping their night attacks.
Cheryl Phillips
Exclusive to HULIQ.com
sources: yahoo.com, wikipedia.com
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