Ships to sail to Somalia
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 11, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Parliament yesterday passed a motion to allow Turkey to deploy a warship off the Somali coast to prevent pirates from hijacking its ships.
The motion envisages a one-year limit for the deployment in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast. In the first stage, Turkey is planning to send one warship. The initiative is based on U.N. Security Council resolutions authorizing countries to take measures to suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery in the region.
In his address to the General Assembly, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül drew attention to rising piracy off the Somali coast and said the venue, timing and concept of how Turkish troops would be deployed would be determined by the government. "This will not be an individual mission but rather one in which Turkey will be part of a naval force including a number of countries," Foreign Minister Babacan said last week.
More than a dozen ships with links to NATO-member Turkey have been among the vessels hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia during the recent spate of piracy. Earlier, Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak, a military spokesman, said preparations were underway to send the TCG Giresun to the waterway.
In his address to the General Assembly, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül drew attention to rising piracy off the Somali coast and said the venue, timing and concept of how Turkish troops would be deployed would be determined by the government. "This will not be an individual mission but rather one in which Turkey will be part of a naval force including a number of countries," Foreign Minister Babacan said last week.
More than a dozen ships with links to NATO-member Turkey have been among the vessels hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia during the recent spate of piracy. Earlier, Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak, a military spokesman, said preparations were underway to send the TCG Giresun to the waterway.