The BCR Somme hands over the 5 pirate suspects to Puntland

(BRUSSELS2) It was finally towards Bossasso, in Puntland (semi-autonomous region of Somalia) that the BCR Somme headed to deliver the 5 men who had committed the recklessness of s'attack the flagship of the Alindien - the commander of the French forces in the Indian Ocean.

This solution was preferred to repatriation to France, which was politically too complicated (1) and legally difficult. In any case, there was a hell of a problem of material evidence. Neither arms nor provisions had been found on board the skiff; the Somalis having thrown everything on board. This is the fourth time that France has handed over suspects to the Puntland authorities. (As usual), a boat from the Puntland side guards approached the French warship to pick up the prisoners.

Puntland, "federal" region of Somalia. Located in the northeast of Somalia, near Somaliland, this region claims not a split from Somalia, but its autonomy within a federal framework. She wants to have her own flag and her own emblem and is developing a coastguard corps which could be one of the solutions to piracy. If officially no contact exists with this region - European support for the central government obliges - in fact contacts do exist. And from time to time the military (NATO, EUNAVFOR, national) are in contact.

A future coastguard corps. As testified by a French soldier returning from the region, "even if we have to take some of their statements with caution, we nevertheless feel on the part of the Puntland authorities a clear desire to fight against piracy ". And Christian Ménard - French UMP deputy, from Châteaulin (Brittany), author of a very interesting maritime piracy report who has just returned from a visit to Djibouti for a few days with the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Pierre Lellouche - agrees. " I'm a big believer in the Coast Guard. We must encourage and support the authorities of Somaliland, Puntland in particular, to train coastguards and equip themselves. The establishment of regional training centers in Sanaa (Yemen), Djibouti and Dar-el-Salaam (Tanzania) is an excellent thing, which Europe should support quickly. Funding needs to be released ».

(1) France still has a man taken hostage in Somalia.