Letter from Mogadishu: Morocco hosts talk on piracy as India sentences Somali pirates

A major conference on African Maritime Forces has been taking place in Rabat, Morocco, at a time when piracy in the Horn of Africa seems to be making a comeback.

The fourth African Maritime Forces Summit comes to an end today with Somalia making a call on African navies to address maritime security threats.

The five-day summit brought representatives from more than 40 African countries with 20 other international partner states to forge a common front on how to deal with maritime security challenges.

Discussions mainly focused on combating piracy, illegal fishing, maritime terrorism, transnational crime and the growing role of technology in securing Africa’s waters.

Somalia’s representative at the summit, Gen. Abdiwahab Abdullahi Omar, who is the navy and coast guard commander, spoke about the measures his country had made in improving security along its coastline after years of international and domestic efforts to curb piracy and strengthen maritime law enforcement.

The commander revealed the measures Somalia had taken, especially in regard to combating piracy, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and maritime threats linked to armed groups, while continuing to build the capacity of the Somali Navy.

Despite a sharp fall in piracy along Somalia’s coastline for more than a decade, maritime security experts have warned of isolated attacks in recent years, while illegal fishing by foreign vessels remains a persistent concern for Somali authorities and coastal communities.

Somalia has one of the longest coastlines on mainland Africa overlooking some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes linking Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The summit comes as Somalia continues to expand cooperation with regional and international partners to strengthen its naval capabilities. In recent months, Mogadishu has deepened maritime and defence ties with countries including Turkey and Egypt, while international partners have continued to support efforts to improve maritime domain awareness and coast guard operations.

It also comes at a time a special court in Mumbai sentenced 44 Somali nationals to life imprisonment for hijacking two vessels off Somalia’s coast and taking their crews hostage.

The Monday rulings mark India’s first convictions under its Maritime Anti-Piracy Act of 2022, closing a case that began with dramatic naval rescues in 2024.

The sentencing signals India’s growing resolve to prosecute maritime crime under its own laws rather than repatriate suspects, at a time when piracy has resurfaced off East Africa after nearly a decade of relative calm, and as global shipping lanes near the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden face renewed security threats.

The case stemmed from two separate incidents. In December 2023, 35 pirates hijacked the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier MV Ruen, the first successful boarding of a cargo vessel by Somali pirates since 2017.

Indian commandos boarded the vessel some 260 nautical miles off Somalia’s coast in a 40-hour operation, parachuting from a military C-17 aircraft to corner and coerce the pirates into surrendering.

In March 2024, nine other men hijacked the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Al-Kambar 786. Indian naval ships Trishul and Sumedha, deployed in the Gulf of Aden on an anti-piracy mission, responded to a hijacking alert and arrested the nine Somali nationals. Prosecutors said the pirates held the crew hostage for about three days for ransom and threatened them with weapons including AK-47 rifles and hand grenades.

India’s navy has patrolled waters off Somalia since 2008 and intensified anti-piracy operations in 2023 following a spike in attacks across the Arabian Sea and Red Sea corridor

This year’s summit, which ends today, aims to move beyond dialogue by promoting practical cooperation, information-sharing and the adoption of new technologies to improve maritime security across Africa.

Participants are also expected to endorse a joint communiqué outlining shared commitments to strengthen coordination against piracy, trafficking, illegal fishing and other transnational maritime threats

Meanwhile, the talks between Somalia’s federal government and opposition leaders seem headed to a cul-de-sac after representatives from Puntland and Jubaland pulled out, citing dissatisfaction with the direction the talks are taking.

The delegations from the two states, which are at loggerheads with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, left Mogadishu on Tuesday evening, noting that the key issues remain unresolved and the talks had stalled.

The delegates accused the government side of refusing to make concessions on the contentious issue of the country’s electoral process.

Despite the setback, diplomatic sources and political figures familiar with the talks said they are expected to focus on how Somalia should implement direct elections, with the international community closely monitoring the outcome after months of political disagreement over the country’s electoral roadmap.

Sources indicate that both sides broadly agree that Somalia should move toward a system in which citizens directly elect their leaders, marking a significant shift from the clan-based indirect electoral model that has dominated the country for decades.

The sticking point, however, remains how that transition should be implemented.

One of the main headaches is whether elections should be contested through registered political parties or under a candidate-centred system that would allow individuals to run independently.

Another unresolved issue concerns the structure of the electoral management body.

While some opposition figures have proposed establishing two separate election commissions—one at the federal level and another for the federal member states—to oversee different aspects of the process, others favour a single national electoral commission, arguing it would provide a more unified framework for administering the vote.

The federal government has maintained that it is committed to expanding universal suffrage, while opposition groups have repeatedly called for broader political consensus and institutional safeguards before key electoral decisions are implemented. Both sides have publicly stated their support for peaceful dialogue.

International stakeholders, including the United Nations, the African Union and Somalia’s international partners, have consistently urged Somali leaders to resolve electoral disputes through dialogue and reach an inclusive agreement capable of delivering credible, peaceful and broadly accepted elections.