NATO to bolster flotilla to counter rising piracy off Somali coasts

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization-NATO- is intent on beefing up a warship flotilla, already deployed off the coasts of Somalia, to check the nefarious scourge of piracy in the area, according to a NATO spokesman.

• James Appathurai told reporters that the Atlantic Alliance was studing how to consolidate its anti-piracy mission in the area on a long-term basis.
• The anti-piracy operation, launched in late October, involving Italian, Greek, Turkish and British vessels, is scheduled to be wrapped up by mid-December, he said.
• The piracy issue is also taken seriously by the European Union which has decided to dispatch in early December, a flotilla of at least 7 warships, backed by reconnaissance aircraft off the coast of Somalia.