Pirates caught redhanded by one of Her Majesty’s warships after trying to hijack a cargo ship off Somalia made the grave mistake of opening fire on two Royal Navy assault craft packed with commandos armed with machineguns and SA80 rifles.
In the ensuing gunfight, two Somali pirates in a Yemeni-registered fishing dhow were killed, and a third pirate, believed to be a Yemeni, suffered injuries and subsequently died. It was the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged in a fatal shoot-out on the high seas in living memory.
By the time the Royal Marines boarded the pirates’ vessel, the enemy had lost the will to fight and surrendered quietly. The Royal Navy described the boarding as “compliant”.
This is being talked up as a success. But when I look at the rubber boats that the Royal Marines assaulted the pirates in all I can think is that this is a catastrophe in the making.
The way I understand it, the Royal Marines are operating under rules of engagement that prevent them from opening fire until they are fired upon even when the enemy is obviously armed. In modern warfare, it is not a good sigh when the enemy gets off the first shot. A little better fire discipline on the part of the pirates and a couple of rocket propelled grenades and this would have turned out a lot different.
It only took a few mistakes and a couple of dead men to drive the US out of Somalia the first time. I wonder how strong a stomach the pirate fighters will have?