Somalia to Set Up Coastguard to Combat Piracy

Pirates were originally hired out as a voluntary coast guard

Somalia will set up a new coastguard force to combat piracy as well as to strengthen its control over its territorial waters and natural resources, the presidency said Wednesday.

A deal signed Tuesday between Somalia's defence ministry and a private company, The Atlantic Marine and Offshore Group, aims to create a coastguard from scratch for the war-torn nation, whose pirate-infested coastline is one of the longest on mainland Africa.