Mogadishu, September 12, 2009 (SL Times) – Pirate-plagued Somalia took a step toward policing its own shores with the graduation of its first 500 naval recruits on Tuesday.

Officials hope the men will form the backbone of the country's first naval force for nearly two decades, but said they need international funding to make it a viable force.

Somalia currently relies on international warships to police its lawless shores, where the UN-backed government is fighting Islamist insurgents and clan-based militia. The chaos provides a perfect refuge for pirates who prey on vessels passing between Asia and Europe - one of the world's busiest trade routes.

Japan, America, Germany, China, Canada and other nations have sent warships to the Gulf of Aden but there are not enough to cover the danger zone. The pirates have expanded their operations hundreds of miles offshore in the Indian Ocean.

 Last year pirates captured over 100 ships and attacks have increased this year. Foreign navies are reluctant to tackle the pirates on land for fear of getting sucked into the bloodbath of Somalia's 18-year-old civil war.

Several challenges

Somalia's new naval commander, Admiral Farah Ahmed, said the new batch of recruits who graduated on Tuesday are the first tranche of a new force responsible for tackling piracy. Each man will receive $175 a month and the force will be armed with tanks, machine guns and rocket propelled grenades.

 He said the navy will set up bases in the ports of Bosasso, Berbera and Kismayo, and its headquarters in the capital of Mogadishu. The scheme is currently funded by the Somali government but Ahmed says members of the international community have also pledged funds.

The new force faces several challenges. The port of Berbera is in Somaliland, a relatively peaceful area in the north that has declared its independence from the government in the chaotic south. The impoverished areas around Bosasso are pirate havens, where the influx of money from the gunmen has made them wildly popular.

Kismayo in the south is in the hands of Islamist insurgents who have vowed to topple the UN -backed administration and there is daily fighting in the capital of Mogadishu.

Better trained pirates

The force also has only a dozen boats so far - pirate gangs have used more in a single attack. And although donors all agree on the need for a Somali coast guard, they have so far been reluctant to release funding for more recruits and equipment after a previous scheme to train Somali police was dogged by widespread corruption and desertion.

Many private military companies have expressed an interest in training the new Somali navy but European naval officials have expressed fears that new recruits might simply end up as better trained pirates.

But Ahmed is optimistic.

"We are hopeful that in future we will get warships so we can chase the pirates out of our coast," he said, adding he eventually hoped to have 5 000 sailors under his command.

Source: AP, September 9, 2009

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