PIRACY IN SOMALIA

Piracy off the coast of Somalia is a growing concern for international trade. For the past couple of months, over 70 ships have been attacked by local Somalian pirates, that have obtain over 150 million dollars in ransom. As of November 2008, Somali pirates hijacked a Saudi Arabia's supertaker right off the the Gulf of Aden. This event truly convinced the world that piracy now threatens global seaborne assets. This week, the NATO alliances, the European Union, and U.S. collectively sent out naval troops to set up blockades.



Somalia's neighboring countries are also aggressively taken action in this matter. The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi deployed troops to Somalia. Prime Minister Zenawi stated that the vessel attacks in the Gulf of Aden has dampened the Arab World's security. Ethiopia is willing to send out troops until the end of the year. Hopefully, the United Nations can deploy UN Peacekeeping troops. UN Peacekeeping Troops are perhaps more suitable for this crisis. UN Peacekeeping Troops will be able to peacefully end piracy and provide reconciliation.