Obama pledges to fight piracy; pirates vow revenge

NAIROBI, Kenya - President Barack Obama promised Monday to work with other nations “to halt the rise of piracy,” while Somali pirates vowed revenge for the deaths of three colleagues shot by snipers during the daring high-seas rescue of an American sea captain.

The pirates’ threat raised fears for the safety of some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off lawless Somalia.

Sunday’s nighttime operation was a remarkable achievement for snipers on a rolling warship in choppy seas, but few experts believe the victory will quell a rising tide of attacks in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

One of the American sailors whose captain was rescued after the five-day standoff urged Obama on Monday to take the lead in ending the scourge of piracy.

“It’s time for us to step in and put an end to this crisis,” he said. “It’s a crisis, wake up,” said Shane Murphy, chief mate aboard the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama.

At a Washington news conference, Obama said: “I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we’re going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks.”

“We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise, and we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes,” the president said.

Somali pirates said they were undaunted.

“From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages),” Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told The Associated Press from one of Somalia’s piracy hubs, Eyl. “(U.S. forces have) become our No. 1 enemy.”