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Nairobi: The African Union urged the United Nations on Thursday to quickly send peacekeepers to Somalia, as piracy off the east African nation's sprawling coast spiraled out of control.
An anti-piracy watchdog, meanwhile, advocated more aggressive action against the well-organized bandits who have attacked 95 ships this year in the Gulf of Aden and hijacked 39 of them.
Eight vessels have been seized in the last two weeks alone _ including a massive Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil. Several hundred crew are now in the hands of Somali pirates.
Pirates dock the hijacked ships near the eastern and southern Somali coast and negotiate for ransom. Although the Saudi ship owners were among those talking with the pirates, no exact figure for the oil tanker's ransom could
be confirmed Thursday.
Jean Ping, chairman of the African Union Commission, said the increasing piracy was "a clear indication of the further deterioration of the situation, with far-reaching consequences for Somalia, the region and the larger international community."
In a rare victory in the sea war, an Indian warship, the INS Tabar, sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats Tuesday. The Gulf of Aden is one of the world's busiest waterways.
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