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EU anti-piracy fight with warships must go on

EU Committee urged more aid for Somalia The European Union should continue to use warships to tackle pirates off the coast of Somalia following a reduction in the rate of kidnappings, a parliamentary committee has said.Operation Atalanta, which also involves putting armed guards on ships, has been in place since 2008.The Lords EU Committee said hostage-taking had more than halved in the last year and said funding should go beyond a planned cut-off at the end of 2014.It also urged more aid for Somalia.Kidnappings involving shipping travelling past the coast of the east African country - which has not had a stable government since 1991 - have become rife in recent years.One of the highest-profile cases was that of British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were taken hostage for more than a year after being held while on a round-the-world sailing trip.'Not invulnerable' In 2008 the EU set up Operation Atalanta, its first naval task force, to try to defeat the problem. Pirate ships have been attacked, with armed guards being placed on commercial vessels to deter hostage-taking.In April, the EU expanded the remit to include assaults on pirates' land bases, with a well-known lair near the port of ...

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