Mogadishu – Turkey’s navy, along with Somali armed forces, have freed a hijacked vessel held in Somali waters and killed 14 pirates after a battle lasting several days, Mogadishu’s government said Saturday.
The Horn of Africa has seen a resurgence in piracy since April, according to figures from the International Maritime Organization, with at least 15 attacks off the coast of Somalia this year, the highest since 2013.
“During the ten-day operation, four boats used by the pirates were destroyed and 14 pirates were killed,” said a Somali defence ministry statement.
“The sustained military pressure finally forced the remaining pirates to abandon the ship,” it added.
“The forces subsequently secured the MV LATUF, which has now safely resumed its journey.”
According to sources in Puntland, at least eight members of the crew were on board, including one Turk.
The Marine Traffic website shows that the vessel, which operates under a Cameroonian flag, left Turkey in late July bound for the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.
According to international media reports it was carrying Turkish weapons.
Contacted by AFP, neither Somalia’s federal authorities nor the authorities in Puntland confirmed this information.
The joint Turkey-Somalia operation was carried out as part of a defence cooperation agreement between the two countries.
Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia in the 2000s, peaking in 2011 before being curbed by international naval deployments and new protection measures for commercial shipping.
But attacks have surged since April, with at least five cargo ships held hostage, the last of which was seized on August 20 off Yemen.
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Source: AFP
