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US to send pirates to Kenya
27/01/2009 09:00 - (SA)

Nairobi - The United States will hand over any suspected pirates its forces capture off the coast of Somalia to Kenya for trial, the American ambassador to Kenya said on Monday.

The US is leading anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia, where piracy is flourishing off the lawless coast.

The question of where to bring pirates to justice is among the many issues frustrating naval forces struggling to curb rising attacks on merchant vessels off Somalia, where pirates made more 100 attacks on ships last year and took away millions of dollars in ransom.

US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger said it is "a little early to say how (the deal) will be implemented".

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Kenya signed a memorandum on the US-Kenya agreement on the pirates because the hijackings had made it riskier for ships coming to Kenya's main port, Mombasa, which is south of Somalia.

"Because of this piracy the insurance premiums for goods that are coming into our country have gone up substantially," Odinga told journalists at a joint news conference with the US ambassador.

Somalia has not had a functioning government for 18 years and does not have a coast guard or navy. The country's weak, UNbacked government has been battling an Islamic insurgency for two years.

Britain has already agreed to hand over captured suspects to Kenya.