Somalia has demanded clarity on the war against piracy in the Somali waters amid the number of successful piracy attacks on ships off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden decreased.

The country’s Permanent Representative to the UN Abuukar Osman said ships on the Somali waters are manned by heavily armed forces who ‘claim to be defending the ships but putting risk the lives of Somali fisherfolk.’

“We have urged the UN security council to have clear plan about the ongoing war against the so-called piracy. Many innocent civilians have fallen victims to this mission,” he said.

The ambassador noted that Somalia asked the council to reconsider the possibility to try suspected pirates in the country.

“Currently, trials of the suspected pirates are conducted in Kenya’s Mombasa and transferred to Seychelles to serve their sentences but hope the council to reconsider allowing Somali government to conduct all these in the country,” the ambassador noted.

According to ambassador Abuukar, the government of China has questioned its rationale noting some countries were using the anti-piracy efforts to pursue business interests.

The remarks come hours after Japanese government extend counter-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia by a year.
Japan’s current mission is due to end on Friday.

The decision to extend the mission was made at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.