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    October 30, 2011

Britain to Approve Armed Guards for Horn of Africa Shipping

   VOA News
   Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, October 23, 2011. Photo:
   Reuters
   Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, October 23, 2011.

   British Prime Minister David Cameron says British-flagged merchant
   ships sailing the Horn of Africa will be authorized to carry armed
   guards to ward off pirates.
   Cameron, speaking Sunday on British television, said shipping companies
   will soon be able to apply for a government license for guards and
   weapons for use near the coast of Somalia.
   Under the plan, weapons use would also be permitted in the Gulf of Aden
   and the Arabian Sea.
   Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean have in recent years seized scores
   of international cargo ships and commercial vessels and collected tens
   of millions of dollars in ransom from shipping companies.
   Sunday, Cameron referred to the Somali piracy as "a complete insult" to
   world governments and said evidence shows that companies deploying
   armed guards suffer fewer attacks and pay less ransom.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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