You've heard about Pirates of the Carribean. But what about the Pirates of Africa? There' s been 24 reported acts of piracy in Somalia so far this year, but the latest one may be the tipping point where the international community steps up and says, 'Enough." Here's more, from CBN News:
Forget buried treasure. The pirates of Somalia are after bigger riches.
They're asking for $20 million in ransom money to release a Ukranian cargo ship they seized off the coast of Somalia last week.
The ship, named Faina, contains 33 Russian-made tanks, ammunition and spare parts. It was bound for Sudan, not Kenya as was previously claimed by officials.
The U.S. Navy warships and helicopters in conjunction with Russian ships have surrounded the Ukranian vessel, which is docked off the coast of Somalia.
The measure was necessary to keep the weapons from falling "into the wrong hands," according to American Navy spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen.
The U.S. fears the weapons on board the Faina might end up with al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militants who have been fighting to gain control of Somalia since 2006.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991. A government-in-exile has been recognized by the United Nations, but has not been able to gain full control over the country. Somalia is lawless, chaotic and desperately poor, which makes for an environment hospitable to Islamic terrorists, warlords and pirates alike. But the pirates may have overstepped their eye patches this time around. Russia and the U.S.--which don't agree on much of anything these days--look to be in agreement that the ship seizures need to stop. I wouldn't be surprised to see some kind of U.S. or Russian-engineered rescue mission to help salvage the Ukrainian ship, save its crew and send a tough message to any aspiring African Blackbeards. And here is your obligatory Iran angle. Why does that regime always seem to rear its head in global hotspots, either directly or indirectly?