Pirates operating from Somalia appear to be taking advantage of the redeployment of Western forces to combat the Houthis in the Red Sea.
The resurgence in Somalia pirate activity has sparked alarm amid reports of an alliance with the powerful Islamist terror group Al-Shabaab.
Al Shabab militants in Somaliland’s Sanaag region are alleged to make a deal with pirates with the terrorists protecting the pirate group in exchange for a 30 percent share of the ransom earnings.
Meanwhile, local security forces reported that the pirates are now equipped with advanced weaponry, implying support from Al Shabab’s well-established weapons smuggling network.
According to TRT World, this collaboration between the Al-Shabaab and Somali pirates is not entirely new.
Back in 2017, reports surfaced of investigations by the US and the UN into at least two prominent pirate figures accused of providing material support to Al Shabab and Daesh in Somalia.
During that time, the pirates were accused of assisting the militants in smuggling weapons and ammunition into Somalia, with the group most likely receiving financial contributions and a cut of profits from pirates operating in Al Shabab-controlled areas.
Emily Milliken, Lead Analyst at Askari Associates, LLC, a Middle East-focused defence and intelligence consultancy firm told TRT World: “A return of piracy to the Red Sea — where about 12 percent of global trade passes through — could lead to massive cargo delays and an increase in ship insurance premiums that could disrupt supply chains and increase prices worldwide.
“For example, rerouting merchant ships around the southern tip of Africa could cost as much as $1 million in fuel alone for every round trip between Asia, East Africa, and northern Europe.”
Al Shabab has an estimated 10,000 fighters in Somalia and is known to have orchestrated numerous deadly bombings in the region.
The group is suspected to be behind the suicide bombing in Mogadishu’s capital city in 2017 that killed over 500 people.
Al Shabab also claimed responsibility for a deadly attack in September 2013, during which four masked gunmen opened fire in a shopping centre in Nairobi, Keny, killing nearly 70 people and injuring more than 200 more.
