Tampa Adult Entertainment: Despite naval forces, pirate attacks off Somalia nearly double
December 30, 2009Northern Somalia shows how efforts on the ground can translate into success.
The gains are starting to occur in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, which wants a share of the $250 million pledged to Somalia at a U.N.-sponsored international donor’s conference in April to help stabilize the nation and fund humanitarian work.
Author Jay Bahadur, who has spent time in Puntland researching a book on piracy, said last January there was only one police checkpoint on the outskirts of the regional capital of Garowe, long a pirate boomtown. By June and July there were many more and authorities had begun to launch raids against suspected pirates, he said.
There has also been a local backlash against pirates, he said, because they indulge in un-Islamic behavior such as drinking and using prostitutes, and their spending of ransom money has triggered soaring inflation.