Mortar shells fired at US congressman in Somalia

Monday, April 13, 2009 at 10:37 PM Posted by Beijing News


Somali gunmen fired mortars on Monday at a US lawmaker in Mogadishu seeking to tackle rampant sea piracy, hours after the dramatic end to an American skipper's maritime hostage ordeal.

Donald Payne, a congressman from New Jersey and a foreign affairs committee member, escaped unhurt from the attack at Mogadishu airport, which was subsequently claimed by Somalia's hardline Shebab Islamists.

"We carried out mortar attacks against the enemy of Allah who arrived to spread democracy in Somalia," the group's Sheikh Husein Ali Fidow told reporters in Mogadishu.

As US President Barack Obama issued a fresh call on the international community to confront pirates operating out of the lawless Horn of Africa nation, the Shebab figure warned: "This government is welcoming America, which is our prime enemy and we will never stop attacking them."

It was not immediately clear if Payne was on an officially-sanctioned mission.

In Washington, US State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Payne was provided with a "very frank and straightforward assessment of the security situation on the ground."

He added: "My understanding is there are no DS Diplomatic Security agents protecting him."

Late on Sunday, US snipers shot dead three of four Somali pirates who had held Captain Richard Phillips, skipper of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship, for five days in the Indian Ocean.

A Somali pirate chief on Monday threatened to target Americans in revenge for Phillips' rescue.

Payne held talks Monday with Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed over a wave of pirate attacks which has grown in scale and intensity over recent days, despite the presence of an international task force in the Gulf of Aden.

"Illegal activities must be dealt with," Payne said at a press conference before leaving for the airport. "If you don't deal with criminal behaviour then they will continue."

Obama vowed that the US remains "prepared to confront pirate attacks when they arise," adding: "We have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told naval students that any strategy aimed at curbing piracy would be doomed to failure unless a maritime presence was backed up on land.

"There is no purely military solution to" piracy in the region, Gates warned.

"As long as you've got this incredible number of poor people and the risks are relatively small, there's really no way in my view to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids."

The head of the pirate group that had held Phillips aboard a lifeboat since Wednesday, however, accused Washington of breaking an agreement to end the stand-off peacefully.

"The American liars have killed our friends after they agreed to free the hostage without ransom... this matter will lead to retaliation and we will hunt down particularly American citizens travelling our waters," Abdi Garad said by phone from the pirate lair of Eyl.

Ten Italians, five Romanians and a Croat seized on an Italian tugboat on Saturday were still in pirate hands Monday.



A boy rides his bike at sunset in a park in Bucharest, Romania.AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

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