French warship arrests nine Somali pirates
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European Union Naval Force announced on Sunday French warship destroyed a pirate mother ship and arrested nine Somali pirates for questioning in the Indian Ocean, between Mogadishu and the Seychelles.
Naval Force spokesman John Harbour said a helicopter from the FS Lafayette spotted a pirate action group (PAG), with one mother ship and one skiff late on Saturday. "When detected, the suspected pirates tried to escape and threw paraphernalia over board. The helicopter fired warning shots and the mother ship finally stopped," Harbour said.
He noted that the warship, Lafayette then did an unopposed boarding and found evidence to show the intention of the suspects to commit piracy.
"Nine individuals were held for further investigation and the mother ship was destroyed. The skiff was taken onboard Lafayette, as evidence," Harbour said.
The development followed another incident in which French warship, FS Tonnerre boarded the two pirate ships and took the 11 Somali pirates on board. "This was the second successful disruption on the same day which continues to show EU Naval Force continues more offensive strategy is working.
Harbour said the joint action by EU NAVFOR's French warships Tonnerre and Lafayette and Maritime Patrol Aircraft from the Seychelles was evidence of excellent teamwork and a determination to fight these criminal acts.
In another action on Sunday, Harbour said a unit from task force 508 (NATO) disrupted a PAG and held 5 suspects.
He said the EU Naval Force will work closely with other coalition forces in the area to avert piracy incidents along the pirate infested waters off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation.
He said sharing assets such as EU Naval Force's Maritime Patrol Aircraft, makes for a potent and extremely effective combination in fighting piracy along the coastline.
The two latest incidents came three days after French warship Nivose destroyed another mother ship off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation which has been without effectively central government for more than two decades.
He said the EU Naval Force will continue with its aggressive stance against piracy and the intention to interdict and disrupt pirate activity.
Harbour said over 40 pirate action groups have been disrupted in the last two months showing that the new strategy is working.
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