Despite its approval for foreign intervention to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden, Yemen has recently accused international forces of aiding pirates to attack ships off the cost of Somalia, media sources reported.
A report issued by the external and political affairs committee in the Shoura Council noted that the international forces patrolling the Arabian and Red Seas on anti-pirate operations provide Somali pirates with information over ships passing through the waterways in the region and other equipment such as boats in an attempt to make piracy appear as unchallenged force.
The international forces with aiding pirates aim to serve big schemes of great powers and to affect international shipping, the report said.
The report has tied piracy to globalization, failed states, and weakness of the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the United Nations besides the absence of Arab cooperation to secure the Red Sea over the past thirty years.
The report warned against the presence of international forces in Arabian waters under the cover of “War on Piracy”, saying the forces may exercise pressure on countries overlooking the Red and Arabian Seas to intervene in their internal affairs.
Yemen also expressed concerns that the southern Red Sea may turn into a clash point for regional and international forces where fleets of great powers are stationed, pointing to an Israeli bid to internationalize the Red Sea that was rejected by Arab states years ago.
Last year, the European Union sent an anti-piracy force to the region including troops from Britain, France, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Greece and Sweden. Russia also has sent warships to conduct anti-pirate patrols off the coast of Somalia.
In recent years, pirate attacks have been stepped up with over 100 vessels attacked off Somalia’s coast in 2008.
Bristol Somali Media Group 