Piracy off Africa's west coast increasing - UN
A Somali, part armed militia, part pirate, carries a heavy-calibre automatic weapon on a beach in the central Somali town of Hobyo. A Somali, part armed militia, part pirate, carries a heavy-calibre automatic weapon on a beach in the central Somali town of Hobyo.
United Nations - The UN says pirate attacks off Africa's west coast in the Gulf of Guinea are increasing and becoming more violent, sophisticated and systematic.
UN political chief B. Lynn Pascoe said the International Maritime Organization received 45 reports of piracy incidents involving seven west and central African nations in 2010 - and 64 reports of attacks involving nine countries last year.
Pascoe said the IMO has already recorded 10 piracy incidents off the coasts of Benin, Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria in the first two months of this year.
Pascoe told the UN Security Council on Monday that Gulf of Guinea countries need a united front to respond to the growing piracy threat and urged regional leaders to hold an anti-piracy summit. - Sapa-AP