U.S. senior military official has expressed concern over the growing incidents of piracy and terrorism along the Horn of Africa and pledged to train and support soldiers in the region to fight the menace.
Speaking in Nairobi late Tuesday, General William Kip Ward, who heads the U.S. Africa Command (Africom), said regional countries should team up to fight international crimes.
"Piracy is a matter of concern to the world. The U.S. government, through the military, is now ready to offer sufficient training to officers from countries that have sought assistance," Ward told journalists in Nairobi.
Ward said that the U.S. army did not plan rescue operations on hijacked ships because many were private.
Ward, who is in Kenya for an official tour, said high level consultations were going on with relevant authorities in the command forces to come up with a wide-ranging solution.
He did not elaborate on the exact action to be taken once the "high level talks" are completed. "It will be a solution that will curb piracy in the affected parts of the Gulf of Aden and the Somalia coast," he added.
"This is a problem that needs a coordinated approach. And for that kind of approach to be found, there must be a framework developed to deal with it. It is the framework that is being worked on," he said.
He said the training would equip African armies with skills to counter regional terrorism, but he also said they had no evidence to link pirates to international terrorists operating under al-Qaeda.
"Even though both are extremists engaging in international crime, we have no evidence so far linking the two to the piracy problem in the Indian Ocean," Ward said.
"Terrorism is complicated. We are joining hands with African countries to bring the menace down," said the commander. He, however, said the United States would not send troops to trouble spots in Africa.
The U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger said talks were underway with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia to restore peace in the lawless country.
He said the international community was keen to ensure there was no more fighting in Somalia where armed militia groups and pirates continued to operate with the high levels of impunity.
"It is a concern for all and the international community is keenly following the developments in Somalia," said the U.S. envoy to Kenya.
"I have talked on several occasions with the Somali president and premier, and we are planning another round of talks. All we want is to see them get a cordial working relationship for the sake of their country's stability," he said.
Ward said that his command would work with various forces including the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade, which has announced that it planned to send troops to protect crucial trade routes in the Indian Ocean once fully operational.
Source:Xinhua
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