Nato not considering blockade
2008-11-24 18:23
Brussels - Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Monday that the alliance is not considering any naval blockade as a way to combat piracy off Somalia, after maritime groups urged international action.
"Blocking ports is not contemplated by Nato," he told reporters, adding that such action has not been endorsed by the UN Security Council. "This is, at the moment, not in the cards."
Nato has four ships - from Britain, Greece, Italy and Turkey - on patrol in the waters off Somalia, with two protecting UN food aid convoys to the strife-torn Horn of Africa country.
The mission, Nato's first-ever against pirates and which is commanded from Naples, southern Italy, ends in mid-December when a bigger European Union operation - dubbed Atalanta - is to be put in place.
- AFP