Warlords, U.S Security Firms and the Rise of Sea Pirates in Somalia

[Jacaylbaro]

“There were 35 instances of piracy off the coast of Somalia in 2005, compared to two in 2004, according to the International Maritime Bureau.” .[2]I have stressed elsewhere that the clearest sign marking the return of the warlords to Somalia is the sudden increase of widespread looting of local businesses in areas in the south and under the control of Zinawi’s Tigre army and Somali warlords and a sharp rise of the murky enterprise of sea pirates operating off the Indian Ocean Coast of the break away Somalia eastern province of Puntland.[3]

 

At present the status of Puntland is not clear. This is because, whilst Puntland leaders claim that it is a ‘breakaway and therefore a ‘sovereign republic’, most of the figures of the US installed warlord regime of the transitional federal government, such as Abdullahi Yusuf and Hassan Abshir, are part of Puntland regime as well. This contradictory loyalty makes the Puntland warlords of the TFG separatists against the unity of the state of Somalia and illegitimate rulers of the southern Somalia.

It is no secrete to most Somalis that Abdullahi Yusuf and other Puntland warlords in the TFG use their current political power in the south to loot local businesses in places such as Bakaraha market in Mogadishu, engage in revenge killings calling all in the name of advancing their subclan based power in Puntlandland and elsewhere.

 

The recent inter-subclan war between Puntland militia directed by a cousin of Abdullahi Yusuf and another sublclan militia loyal to the Marihaan subclan of the ***** clan over the control of Kismayo registers extent to which Puntland warlords have tried to advance their subclan power base using federal political and military clout. But this is a story for another day.

 

Here, I am interested to trace how, in their short lived tenure in political power, the Union of Islamic Courts was able to bring peace and security, including ending the menace of sea piracy in the areas in southern Somalia under its control. However, with the return of the warlord rule, we see the sudden return of widespread lawlessness and a sharp rise of the criminal enterprise of sea piracy.

This enquiry is pertinent for, at present, the US has overwhelming sea, air and land military presence in Somalia. In addition to U.S special forces, there are number of US based “security firms” operating inside Somalia, apparently fight the menace of sea piracy, among other things. Yet, neither the mighty U.S military nor US private security firms have been able to intervene the criminal entity of sea piracy operating off Somalia’s Indian Ocean Coast.

 

This is intriguing, for unlike elusive Al Qaida terrorists supposedly “hiding” among the Somali population, these sea pirates are equipped with global positioning technologies, speed boats and heavy weapons. It is not clear how the sea pirates have managed to successfully evade US aerial, land and navel search and surveillance operating deep inside the waters, land and air spaces of Somalia. On the other hand, as poorly armed but dedicated to the safety and security of their people, the Union of Islamic Courts was able to significantly reduce the menace of sea piracy and bring about general atmosphere of peace and security to Somalia during their short lived tenure in political power. The international media has noted this fact.

 

“Last June, the Union of Islamic Courts took control of southern Somalia, but they were routed in December by Ethiopian-backed forces. Under the UIC, piracy declined. Capt Mukundan explained: "The UIC made an announcement that anyone caught committing piracy would be dealt with under sharia law. The attacks died down." In one instance last October, he says, the UIC gave chase after pirates took a cargo vessel. They captured the pirates and returned the ship to its owners. "We have not seen action of this kind in Somalia for decades," he says. "But the interim government took control and the old militias regained their power and the attacks have started again." [4]

 

 

Whilst the US military continue to flex its overwhelming fire power on the Somali people from sea, air and land, and that U.S AC 130 helicopter gunships, navel warships and special forces continue killing and maiming hundreds of innocent civilians, all in the name of hunting elusive Al Qaida operatives ‘hinding’ amongst the civilian population, the US military and CIA agents freely operating inside Somalia have been unable or unwilling to intervene well organized criminal enterprise of sea piracy operating along Indian Ocean Coastlines off Somalia. It is pertinent to stress that, unlike the elusive Al Qaida terrorists supposedly “hiding” among the Somali population, these pirates are equipped with global positioning technologies, speed boats and heavy weapons. It is not clear how these pirates have managed to successfully evade US aerial, land and navel surveillance operating deep inside the waters, land and air spaces of Somalia.

 

“Last month's attacks, at least 180 nautical miles from shore, mark a new strategy and confirm fears that the pirates are becoming better funded and equipped - they now use satellite phones and GPS to track their prey. That same technology allows large container ships to operate with smaller crews, making them easier to overpower".[5]

 

It is clear from cursory glance of media reports on the menace of sea pirates in Somalia that these criminals have sophisticated global links through which they negotiate ransom deals worth millions of dollars by using “contractors” and even ‘clan elders.” The ransom money is often transferred to foreign accounts. Indeed, it seems that these pirates are well trained, well armed, well connected and menacing.

 

“The two small vessels were travelling across the Indian Ocean at high speed, their occupants wielding rocket-propelled grenades, AK47s and machine guns. Within minutes, they had gained on the bulky container ship. As he stood on the bridge of the MV Rozen, Captain Priayantha Perera sounded the alarm. He knew what was coming: pirates. The Somali pirates who threw a pipe ladder on to his deck and boarded his ship went on to hold him and his 11 crew hostage at gunpoint for 41 days. The captives were released last month after a ransom, believed to be around $100,000 (£50,000), was paid”. [6]

 

It is clear that pirates are known to the international shipping industry which pays them ransom money worth millions of dollars in order to gain the release of their crew members and ships. It is not clear how U.S special forces and the CIA operating in Somalia have been unable to find out the identities of the pirates running this criminal enterprise?

 

“The pirates forced the captain to take the ship further north, out of the Puntland jurisdiction and into lawless waters near the coastal town of Eyl. When Karim Kudrati, the manager of the Rozen, got a call saying his crew were being held hostage, he knew what to expect; three other vessels owned by his company, Motaku Shipping Agencies, and all carrying aid had been attacked by pirates. The crew of one vessel had been held for 100 days. "The ransom negotiations are done in secrecy; no names or receipts are given. Everything is done in Somalia, with the help of the Somali contractors we work with and local elders," he explained”.[7]

 

It also well documented that key members of the current warlord regime of the TFG have close association with US based security firms. Thus, it is more than a harmless coincident that in 2005 the same words [acting for Puntland] signed a $50 million deal with a US security firm, TopCat, to conduct coast guard surveillance against pirates. Yet, in 2004, there were only two cases of sea Piracy in Somalia. In 2005 there were 35 incidence of sea piracy. Thus, it is legitimate to ask whether there is a link between the arrival of US private armies in Somalia and the rise of high tech criminal entities such as sea pirates in Somalia.

 

“In 2005 the Somali government signed a $50 million contract with New York-based TopCat Marine Security to help create a coast guard to protect its coast and shipping from pirates. The State Department blocked TopCat from deploying because of a U.N. arms embargo, Hassan Abshir Farah, Somalia's marine resources minister said. Farah said his government was now discussing a deal with the Chinese government and Chinese marine security firms”. [8]

 

So the question is who is training these Pirates and why the arrival of US security firms in Somalia coincides with the sharp rise of high tech piracy in Somalia? The arrival of US private armies in Somalia and the rise of sea piracy are marked by number of well reported spectacular hijacking of commercial ships off the waters of Puntland by pirates equipped with high tech global positioning technologies, speed boats and heavy weapons. It is equally pertinent to note that almost all the contracts between US based private security firms and Somalia have been negotiated by warlords such as Hassan Abdshir Farah, Abdullahi Yusuf [Puntand/ and Ali Mohamed Gedi [south].

 

“Top Cat Marine Security and President Abdullahi Yusuf of Somalia establish newSomalia Coast Guard and Security Forces.

 

NAIROBI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Somali government has signed a two-year contract with an American marine security company in a bid to end an upsurge of piracy off the lawless Horn of Africa country, officials said on Friday.Waters off the coast of Somalia are considered among the most dangerous in the world. Pirates firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns earlier this month tried to board a U.S.-owned cruise liner about 100 miles (160 km) off the Somali coast. New York-based Topcat Marine Security Inc. signed a deal worth more than $50 million with the Somali Transitional Federal Government in Nairobi to escort ships plying Somali waters. Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi, who witnessed the deal, said his government recognised the damage caused by pirates and hoped Topcat would help end the piracy menace".

 

"The agreement signed today will defend Somalia's territorial waters, defeat the pirates," Gedi said, "The government wishes to express its dismay at these abhorrent actions."Peter Casini, Topcat's head of research and development, said once in operation his company would target a mother ship used by the pirates to launch attacks on passing vessels."We will end the piracy very quickly, there is no question about that," Casini told reporters. "There is a ship that is launching small ships 75 to 100 miles from the shore, our goal is to take the mother ship." [9]

 

Yet, when the warlord regime of Gedi and Yusuf was driven out of southern Somalia, including the capital city, Mogadishu, by the Union of Islamic Courts the criminal enterprise of sea piracy went down considerably and went up sharply again after the same group of warlords were restored to political power riding inside Ethiopia’s tanks protected by US aerial and navel support.

 

 

By Amina Mire (Faculty), Department of Sociology and Anthropology of Carleton University, Ottawa Canada Email: amina_mire@carleton.ca