French soldiers fire at pirates in Indian Ocean

[tocqueville]

Source: AFP

NAIROBI — French soldiers providing protection on board French fishing ships in the Indian Ocean early on Saturday fired on pirates to repel an attack, sources said.

"Three small launches... (which were) nearly invisible and that we had on the radar at the last moment, chased us," a member of the crew of the Drennac, one of two fishing French vessels approached by the pirates, told AFP by telephone.

The soldiers "at first fired warning shots, then they fired at the target," he added.

The incident took place 195 nautical miles (350 kilometres) north of the Seychelles. There were no casualties on the French side.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5haDtKx38sVKWbiNKmT-NEwqQAAVQ

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http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=nw20091010103852676C208498

[Lasher]

1. the pirate skiffs that came under fire returned to a mother ship some 30 metres (90 feet) long.

Why didn't they pursue the pirates and attack the mother ship?

[tocqueville]

3. because you don't chase pirates with civilian tuna fishing boats nt

[tocqueville]

2. they used this weapon (pic)

source

http://www.defense.gouv.fr/ema/operations_exterieures/piraterie/breves/piraterie_attaque_de_deux_thoniers_repoussee_par_des_epe#

they had to repell 3 attacks

they used graduated response : flares, warning shots then real reply.

[dballance]

4. Frankly, we should just shoot them on site

I don't understand why all of the countries whose citizens are being kidnapped by these pirates are playing strictly by the book. The pirates are not following any international laws so I think the pirates, by default, have given up their protections granted by international laws. So shoot them the hell out of the water when they show up.

Just my two cents.

[slackmaster]

5. Good work!

Kudos to the French!

[sce56]

6. Not condoning Pirate attacks But Why are the French Fishing off the coast of Somalia

The reason there are Pirate attacks has been disclosed in the Alternative media (DemocracyNow for one) that the waters are being fished clean leaving nothing for the local fishermen. Along with dumping of toxic waste from Europe that has caused the loss of Somali fishing jobs creating the Pirates.

[tocqueville]

7. they were fishing on international waters far away from Somalia

outside the coast of the Seychelles, 190 miles.

could ask the question, why are US boats fishing "outside the coast of..." yada yada, I'll find probably plenty of similar examples starting from Mexico, going south

This kind of tuna fishing was never a threat to any local fishermen, and the piracy problem has been primarily caused by the failure of the state of Somalia, not LEGAL international fishing. The piracy racket is organized by expat Somalians in Western countries and probably as a way of pocketing money by local warlords. Besides it's known that corrupted Somalian officials give permission to international trawlers to fish INSIDE Somalian waters.

[naaman fletcher]

8. yeah right..

Somalia has long been full of peaceful rational people, who have only recently taken to the Gun in order to combat the depravity of capitalism. Grow up.

They were fishing there because it's international waters. Do you have a problem with the concept of international waters?

[tocqueville]

9. "fishing" by approaching at full speed from the rear and shooting ?

not deterred by flares and warning shots, still at full speed coming at you ?

the descriptions are made by fishermen contacting their families, this in French local and national papers.

"Somalia has long been full of peaceful rational people"

that's probably an accurate description of a medieval warlord society constantly warring with eachother

do you know where the Seychelles are ?



you grow up

[tocqueville]

10. here is a description of the events for the bleeding hearts and other doubters

The fire exchange lasted half an hour. For the first time since the introduction of the operation in July, French troops protecting the French fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean opened fire Saturday morning on pirates. Around 6 am French time, outboard pirate skiffs approached two tuna fishing boats - the Glénan and the Drennec- cruising usually in pair north of the Seychelles archipelago, an area abounding in fish, far away from Somalia. The pirates had no idea of the presence on the military..

"Three small boats of about four meters length, almost invisible and that we had the radar at the last moment, pursued us" told AFP a sailor aboard the Drennec. The pirates opened fire without hitting the tuna fishing boat. The French military "first fired warning shots, then they shot to kill". The pirates then dropped and turned back to their mother ship " told the witness. The incident, which occurred 350 km north of the Seychelles, off the coast of Somalia in the open Indian Ocean, caused no injuries on the French side.

The mother ship was immediately chased by the Topaze, a ship of the Seychelles Coast Guard, and was located at mid-day. The floating base for the pirates is probably an ex-asian longliner, the Win Far, monitored for several months and harbored on the coast of Somalia. "The flight of the pirates proves the effectiveness of the operation", said one Western source, while the Spanish tuna fishing in the area demanded protection of the Spanish military an identical to that of their French colleagues. Sixty French marines, including marine commandos, are involved in this operation, established at the request of owners of the ships.

babelfish translation

http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2009/10/10/01003-20091010ARTFIG00476-des-soldats-francais-tirent-sur-des-pirates-somaliens-.php

[tocqueville]

11. the aftermath

« Today two French fishing vessel in position approximately 160 nm North of Seychelles reported being under attack by pirate skiffs. The attacks were unsuccessful. EU NAVFOR reacted immediately and launched the Luxembourg Maritime Patrol Aircraft stationed at the Seychelles to investigate the area of the incident. The EU NAVFOR Force Headquarters onboard EU NAVFOR Netherlands warship EVERTSEN contacted the Seychelles Coastguard, who had a patrol vessel operating 50nm from the incident. The EU NAVFOR Luxembourg Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) located the pirate skiffs, two fast attack skiffs and one mother skiff, close to the position of the earlier attack on the French fishing vessels. The MPA directed the Seychelles Coastguard to the scene. On sight of the Coastguard vessel the two fast attack skiffs fled. The Seychelles Coastguard ship stopped and boarded the mother skiff with three persons onboard. The Seychelles Coastguard then followed in pursuit of the remaining fleeing skiffs. One skiff suffered engine trouble leaving the suspected pirates with only one skiff. While refueling the EU NAVFOR Luxembourg MPA the Seychelles MPA took over the task of tracking the suspected pirates. Early in the evening, after a long chase in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles Coastguard ship stopped the final skiff after firing warning shots and eight suspected pirates were taken onboard of the Seychelles Coastguard ship for questioning. The EU NAVFOR Luxembourg Maritime Patrol Patrol aircraft was stationed in Seychelles earlier this month. This aircraft has in this short time proved to be a highly valuable asset in the fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean. »

http://bruxelles2.over-blog.com/article-deux-bateaux-pirates-arretes-par-les-gardes-cotes-des-seychelles-37305882.html

so all the claims of "innocent fishermen" are bull. The pirates have been arrested by the Seychelles Coast Guard.