Latest news with #DanishInstituteforInternationalStudies
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Yahoo
Somali pirates use Red Sea crisis to stage return
As he grew up, Abdikarim Yusuf watched his father's catch off the Somali coast grow smaller year after year. Seeing his father struggle, and coming to suspect, like many in his town of Garacad, that overfishing by foreign trawlers was to blame for his predicament, the hot-headed young man vowed action. Unable to feed their families by fishing, and left unprotected by a weak and often corrupt state, they would have to earn a living another way. One day in 2008, aged only 17 at the time, he made the decision to swap his nets for a Kalashnikov and joined a group of older men heading out to sea not as fishermen, but as pirates. 'Naturally I was scared at first but what took the fear away was the belief that what I was doing was justified,' he told The Telegraph. For the next three years he joined a ragtag force which became a scourge of maritime traffic in the Indian Ocean, estimated to cost billions of pounds to international trade. Hundreds of millions was spent in ransoms. But some hapless seafarers were sometimes held captive in terrible conditions for years after being abandoned by their employers. 'Many young men went out at sea with their guns, only to end up dying or being captured and languishing in prisons in foreign lands. This included some of my friends,' Abdikarim says. His buccaneering days are now long over, though he declines to use his real name in case his past catches up with him. Yet after a lull of several years, Somali piracy is now back on the rise, and both residents and analysts say that overfishing is one of the driving factors. So too is the rise of Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, which has caused naval patrols to become distracted from anti-piracy duties off the Horn of Africa, leaving a security void to be exploited by Somali pirates. After several years without any piracy incidents, attacks have started to slowly rise again since 2023. Three vessels have been captured in 2025 alone, according to the European Union naval taskforce patrolling the area. In the most high-profile incident so far, last year the 23-strong crew of the Bangladesh-flagged vessel MV Abdullah were held hostage after the vessel was seized while shipping coal from from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The crew was released after a ransom of $5 million (£3.7 million) was reportedly paid. Locals along the coast say unrestrained fishing by vessels from Iran, Yemen, Pakistan, India and as even Thailand and China still blights their livelihoods. 'Illegal fishing is quieter and less visible and has done significant damage over time. For years, foreign boats have stripped Somalia's coastline with little consequence. Local fishers know this,' says Jethro Norman, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). 'The coastal economy is fragile. Fishing livelihoods remain under pressure from foreign fleets. There's minimal state presence in many littoral zones [parts of that sea that are close to the shore]. Put that together; grievance, opportunity and the means to act, and piracy starts to make sense again.' Senior regional officials from the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, whose 990 miles of coastline have seen three recent hijackings, admit illegal fishing is badly hitting residents in Somalia. 'Illegal fishing is not a problem just in Puntland but is an issue plaguing all of Somalia,' says Abdirizak Abdullahi Hagaa, Puntland's minister of fisheries and marine resources. 'The depletion of maritime resources has not only angered local communities but made their livelihoods more difficult.' However, local anger at illegal fishing has not translated into unqualified support for the pirates. At the height of the pirate menace, while there may have been some sympathy, they were also seen as mercenary, hedonistic and impious. Several communities turned on them and drove them out. The rise of Houthi attacks against shipping further north in the Red Sea has now added another dimension. 'The rise in hijackings over the past year isn't surprising,' said Mr Norman. 'As Western navies pivoted to the Houthi threat, a familiar opportunity reappeared: long stretches of sea with no patrols and plenty of slow-moving ships. Somali pirate groups know this terrain, and the tools are already in place. Motherships, local informants, safe coastal hideouts. These aren't new innovations. It's just muscle memory returning.' Mr Yusuf now lives in the city of Garowe and says he has little sympathy for today's opportunist pirates. 'When I did it [piracy], it was a cause we believed in because we saw ourselves as victims. But the ones doing the recent attacks are opportunists and the tension in the Gulf of Aden isn't making things better. 'These men risk more foreign intervention and militarisation of Somalia with these recent attacks out at sea. The whole world is watching.' 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Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Telegraph
Somali pirates use Red Sea crisis to stage return
As he grew up, Abdikarim Yusuf watched his father's catch off the Somali coast grow smaller year after year. Seeing his father struggle, and coming to suspect, like many in his town of Garacad, that overfishing by foreign trawlers was to blame for his predicament, the hot-headed young man vowed action. Unable to feed their families by fishing, and left unprotected by a weak and often corrupt state, they would have to earn a living another way. One day in 2008, aged only 17 at the time, he made the decision to swap his nets for a Kalashnikov and joined a group of older men heading out to sea not as fishermen, but as pirates. 'Naturally, I was scared at first, but what took the fear away was the belief that what I was doing was justified,' he told The Telegraph. For the next three years, he joined a ragtag force which became a scourge of maritime traffic in the Indian Ocean, estimated to cost billions of pounds to international trade. Hundreds of millions were spent in ransoms. But some hapless seafarers were sometimes held captive in terrible conditions for years after being abandoned by their employers. 'Many young men went out at sea with their guns, only to end up dying or being captured and languishing in prisons in foreign lands. This included some of my friends,' Abdikarim says. His buccaneering days are now long over, though he declines to use his real name in case his past catches up with him. Yet after a lull of several years, Somali piracy is now back on the rise, and both residents and analysts say that overfishing is one of the driving factors. So too is the rise of Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, which has caused naval patrols to become distracted from anti-piracy duties off the Horn of Africa, leaving a security void to be exploited by Somali pirates. After several years without any piracy incidents, attacks have started to slowly rise again since 2023. Three vessels have been captured in 2025 alone, according to the European Union naval taskforce patrolling the area. In the most high-profile incident so far, last year the 23-strong crew of the Bangladesh-flagged vessel MV Abdullah were held hostage after the vessel was seized while shipping coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The crew was released after a ransom of $5 million (£3.7 million) was reportedly paid. Locals along the coast say unrestrained fishing by vessels from Iran, Yemen, Pakistan, India, and even Thailand and China still blights their livelihoods. 'Illegal fishing is quieter and less visible and has done significant damage over time. For years, foreign boats have stripped Somalia's coastline with little consequence. Local fishers know this,' says Jethro Norman, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). 'The coastal economy is fragile. Fishing livelihoods remain under pressure from foreign fleets. There's minimal state presence in many littoral zones [parts of the sea that are close to the shore]. Put that together; grievance, opportunity and the means to act, and piracy starts to make sense again.' Senior regional officials from the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, whose 990 miles of coastline have seen three recent hijackings, admit illegal fishing is badly hitting residents in Somalia. 'Illegal fishing is not a problem just in Puntland but is an issue plaguing all of Somalia,' says Abdirizak Abdullahi Hagaa, Puntland's minister of fisheries and marine resources. 'The depletion of maritime resources has not only angered local communities but made their livelihoods more difficult.' However, local anger at illegal fishing has not translated into unqualified support for the pirates. At the height of the pirate menace, while there may have been some sympathy, they were also seen as mercenary, hedonistic and impious. Several communities turned on them and drove them out. The rise of Houthi attacks against shipping further north in the Red Sea has now added another dimension. 'The rise in hijackings over the past year isn't surprising,' said Mr Norman. 'As Western navies pivoted to the Houthi threat, a familiar opportunity reappeared: long stretches of sea with no patrols and plenty of slow-moving ships. Somali pirate groups know this terrain, and the tools are already in place. Motherships, local informants, safe coastal hideouts. These aren't new innovations. It's just muscle memory returning.' Mr Yusuf now lives in the city of Garowe and says he has little sympathy for today's opportunist pirates. 'When I did it [piracy], it was a cause we believed in because we saw ourselves as victims. But the ones doing the recent attacks are opportunists and the tension in the Gulf of Aden isn't making things better. 'These men risk more foreign intervention and militarisation of Somalia with these recent attacks out at sea. The whole world is watching.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Danish PM Arrives in Greenland for Three-Day Visit amid Trump Pressure
Denmark's prime minister landed in Greenland on Wednesday for talks with the Danish semi-autonomous territory's incoming government, following US President Donald Trump's repeated expressions of interest in controlling the vast Arctic island. Mette Frederiksen begins her three-day trip less than a week after a visit to the territory by US Vice President JD Vance received a frosty reception from authorities in Denmark and Greenland. The Danish leader said ahead of her visit that she aims to strengthen Copenhagen's ties with the island and emphasized the importance of respectful cooperation amid what she described as "great pressure on Greenland". Frederiksen was expected to speak to the media later on Wednesday. Greenland's incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won last month's parliamentary election and will form a coalition government, has welcomed Frederiksen's trip, saying on Monday that Denmark remains "Greenland's closest partner". Nielsen's new coalition is expected to formally take office on April 7. Relations between Greenland and Denmark have been strained after revelations in recent years of historical mistreatment of Greenlanders under colonial rule. However, Trump's interest in controlling Greenland, part of a growing international focus on competition for influence in the Arctic, has prompted Denmark to hasten work to improve ties with the island. Nielsen told Reuters late on Monday that Greenland would strengthen its ties with Denmark until it could fulfil its ultimate wish to become a sovereign nation. 'RESPECTFUL' Meanwhile, Greenland wishes to establish a "respectful" relationship with the United States, he said. "Talking about annexation and talking about acquiring Greenland and not respecting the sovereignty is not respectful. So let's start by being respectful to each other and build up a great partnership on everything," he said. Frederiksen's visit is primarily about signaling support at a time of intense scrutiny, said Ulrik Pram Gad, an academic at the Danish Institute for International Studies. "It is important for Denmark to signal to Greenland that Denmark is Greenland's closest friend and ally - and to the US that it stands behind Greenland," he said. During his visit to a US military base in northern Greenland last Friday, Vance accused Denmark of not doing a good job of keeping the island safe and suggested the United States would better protect the strategically-located territory. Frederiksen, who has said it is up to the people of Greenland to decide their own future, called Vance's description of Denmark "not fair". Opinion polls show that a majority of Greenland's 57,000 inhabitants support independence from Denmark, but many oppose seeking independence too quickly, fearing their island could become worse off and expose itself to US interests.
Observer
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Observer
Greenland PM denounces US 'foreign interference' ahead of visit
COPENHAGEN: Greenland's Prime Minister, Mute Egede, accused Washington on Monday of interfering in its political affairs by sending a US delegation to the Danish territory, which is coveted by US President Donald Trump. Egede said US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz would visit Greenland this week, along with Usha Vance, the wife of US Vice President JD Vance. Usha Vance was to attend a dogsled race with her son. Greenlandic media reports said the delegation also included US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive. They showed images of two US Hercules planes on the tarmac at Nuuk airport as part of an advance security team dispatched to the vast Arctic island. Speaking to Greenlandic daily Sermitiaq, Egede said the "only purpose of the visit was a demonstration of power, and the signal should not be misunderstood". Since returning to power in January, Trump has insisted he wants the United States to take over Greenland for what he says are national security purposes. He has refused to rule out the use of force to achieve that aim. Greenland — which is seeking to emancipate itself from Copenhagen — and Denmark itself have both repeatedly rebuffed Trump, insisting that only Greenlanders can decide their future. Egede said Washington had previously been told there would be "no talks" on any subject until a new Greenlandic government was in place to conduct business. The general election on March 11 left him heading a caretaker government. "It should be said clearly that our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference," Egede said in a post on Facebook. He added that the US delegation's visit "cannot be seen as just a private visit". "(Waltz) is Trump's confidant and closest adviser, and his presence in Greenland alone will certainly make the Americans believe in Trump's mission, and the pressure will increase after the visit," Egede told Sermitsiaq. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the centre-right Democrats and likely future Greenlandic prime minister, has previously criticised Trump's Greenland ambitions as "inappropriate". Egede urged the self-governing territory's Western allies to speak up and "clearly support and back up Greenland". Ulrik Pram Gad of the Danish Institute for International Studies called the visit an "aggressive move" by Washington. "They haven't been invited by Greenlanders. They haven't been invited by the Danes. They just announced that they will go," he said. Greenland's political parties are currently in the process of negotiating a new coalition government following the election, which the Democrats won. "Normally, as a friend or ally, you would stay out of that," Pram Gad said. He said the visit was aimed at showing that "Denmark is not in control of Greenland". — AFP
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Greenland PM denounces US 'foreign interference' ahead of visit
Greenland's prime minister, Mute Egede, accused Washington on Monday of interfering in its political affairs by sending a US delegation to the Danish territory, which is coveted by US President Donald Trump. Egede said US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz would visit Greenland this week, along with Usha Vance, the wife of US Vice President JD Vance. Usha Vance was to attend a dogsled race with her son. Greenlandic media reports said the delegation also included US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive. They showed images of two US Hercules planes on the tarmac at Nuuk airport as part of an advance security team dispatched to the vast Arctic island. Speaking to Greenlandic daily Sermitiaq, Egede said the "only purpose of the visit was a demonstration of power, and the signal should not be misunderstood". Since returning to power in January, Trump has insisted he wants the United States to take over Greenland for what he says are national security purposes. He has refused to rule out the use of force to achieve that aim. Greenland -- which is seeking to emancipate itself from Copenhagen -- and Denmark itself have both repeatedly rebuffed Trump, insisting that only Greenlanders can decide their future. Egede said Washington had previously been told there would be "no talks" on any subject until a new Greenlandic government was in place to conduct business. The general election on March 11 left him heading a caretaker government. - 'Aggressive move' - "It should be said clearly that our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference," Egede said in a post on Facebook. He added that the US delegation's visit "cannot be seen as just a private visit". "(Waltz) is Trump's confidant and closest advisor, and his presence in Greenland alone will certainly make the Americans believe in Trump's mission, and the pressure will increase after the visit," Egede told Sermitsiaq. Jens-Frederik Nielsen -- leader of the centre-right Democrats and likely future Greenlandic prime minister -- has previously criticised Trump's Greenland ambitions as "inappropriate". Egede urged the self-governing territory's Western allies to speak up and "clearly support and back up Greenland". Ulrik Pram Gad of the Danish Institute for International Studies called the visit an "aggressive move" by Washington. "They haven't been invited by Greenlanders. They haven't been invited by the Danes. They just announced that they will go," he told AFP. Greenland's political parties are currently in the process of negotiating a new coalition government following the election, which the Democrats won. "Normally, as a friend or ally, you would stay out of that," Pram Gad said. He said the visit was aimed at showing that "Denmark is not in control of Greenland". - Coveted region - With no officials to welcome the US delegation, "they will be pushing this point that ok, nobody's in control here, there's a need for us to step in", Pram Gad said. He said the choice to send Usha Vance was part of a "sham" charm offensive. She will be "saying nice things about Greenlandic cultural heritage", while "at the same time you send a guy who's an ex-Marine in charge of security at a time when there is no-one to talk to in charge of foreign and security policy for Greenland". Meanwhile, the inclusion of Chris Wright "sends the signal that we're after resources here", he said. Greenland holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, including rare earths crucial to the green transition and seen as a potential springboard to independence. Oil and uranium exploration are banned, however, and there are only two active mines due to the complexity of mining in the inhospitable climate. Greenland is also strategically located in the Arctic between North America and Europe, with rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the region as climate change opens up shipping routes previously covered by ice. According to opinion polls, most of the island's 57,000 inhabitants of Greenland support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington. Trump's son, Donald Jr, also made a visit of several hours to Greenland in early January. nzg-po/gil
