France Allows Spain to Use Its
Base in Djibouti: DM
2008-04-23 20:20:54 Xinhua
France has put its military base in Djibouti at the
disposal of Spain within the framework of efforts to
secure the freedom of a kidnapped Spanish ship and
its sailors, French Defense Minister Herve Morin has
said.
"The Spaniards have asked us of the possibility of
using our bases in Africa as support platforms for
launching their operations," the defense minister
told the press Tuesday, on the sidelines of a visit
to the 106 airbase located in Bordeaux, southwestern
France.
"We of course have given our consent, subject to the
decision of authorities in Djibouti, so that our
base (in the country) can serve as their support
base," said the French defense minister.
Asked to comment on the new development, the General
Staff of the French Armed Forces only spoke of a
mechanism for "exchanging information with the
Spaniards and providing logistical support using the
resources available in the zone" declining to give
any other precision.
On Monday, the Spanish government called for
"support" from France, Britain and the United
States, three countries with a significant military
presence on the Indian Ocean, to help secure the
release of 26 crew members of a Spanish tuna ship,
which was taken hostage Sunday by a group of
suspected pirates while fishing off the coast of
Somalia.
The latest incident, which also saw a Japanese ship
kidnapped, came shortly after a French luxury yacht,
Le Ponant, was released by Somali pirates after a
one-week hostage ordeal that began on April 4.
The crew of the sailboat was released following the
payment of a two-million dollar ransom, according to
reliable sources. Shortly after the release of the
ship and its crew, French commandos launched a
daring day-light helicopter raid several miles
inside Somalia capturing six of the pirates who have
since been transferred to France for trial.
France has several ships in the region, committed
within the Task Force 150, an international naval
force deployed under a U.S.-led international
operation to fight terrorism dubbed "Operation
Enduring Freedom (OEF)."
The Djibouti base is the largest permanent French
military base abroad, with over 2,850 soldiers,
helicopter gunships, fighter jets and military
ships, according to French military sources.
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saylac.com
Geneva - The United Nations independent human rights
expert for Somalia on Wednesday denounced the
killing of civilians amid a fresh escalation of
fighting in the war-stricken east African country.
Ghanim Alnajjar, the UN special rapporteur on human
rights in Somalia, called for an immediate ceasefire
between Ethiopian-backed government troops and
Islamist insurgents.
"The use of heavy weaponry in areas, where civilians
are concentrated left reportedly 81 civilians dead
and more than 100 wounded," he said.
Alnajjar expressed particular concern at the
reported killing of numerous clerics at the Alhidaya
compound mosque in the capital Mogadishu.
Worst humanitarian catastrophe
The bodies of nine Islamic clerics were found in and
around the mosque on Monday, with residents saying
they had been shot by Ethiopian forces during
weekend clashes with Islamist fighters.
He said: "Killings have to be investigated
expeditiously and impartially, and any lasting peace
in Somalia must be based on justice, truth and
accountability."
The United Nations warned on Tuesday that Somalia
risked plunging into its worst humanitarian
catastrophe since the early 1990s as the twin
threats of war and drought put millions of lives in
danger.
Two and a half million people were in urgent need of
assistance amid renewed heavy fighting in Mogadishu
and the worst drought for a decade, the UN's Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
said.
Somalia had been rocked by seemingly endless
fighting since the 1991 ouster of president Mohamed
Siad Barre. |
