EU to launch anti-piracy mission next week

A European Union flotilla will begin anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia next week, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Tuesday.

The six warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft will replace a NATO naval force that has been patrolling the region and escorting cargo ships carrying relief aid to Somalia since the end of October.

Although the NATO ships have successfully delivered nearly 30,000 tons of humanitarian supplies to the impoverished nation, they have not been able to stem the upsurge in pirate attacks on foreign shipping in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.