Piracy: Armed Attacks From Foreign Fishing Trawlers Spark Violent Protest In Bayelsa

Scores of indigenes from the coastal communities of Middleton, Koluama, Fish town, Akassa, Pennington and Brass in Bayelsa and Rivers States yesterday threatened to engage foreign fishing trawler owners in a bloody clash over alleged armed attacks on local fishermen in the area.
The local fishermen from the aggrieved communities in protest letters to the leadership of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) and other security agencies, accused the foreign fishing trawler owners operating on the high sea of indiscriminate gun attacks on local fishermen engaged in fishing activities close to their trawlers.
While the leaders of the aggrieved communities claimed that the gun attacks had led to some fishermen sustaining serious injuries and were unable to fish on the high sea, some concerned indigenes excused the decision by the foreign fishing operators to procure arms and defend themselves alleging that the decision was based on increased armed attacks from pirates and unknown criminal elements from the host communities.
Some of the aggrieved communities accused the Chinese fishing trawler owners of the armed attacks on the indigenes of the communities.
But a source close to some of the foreign operators informed LEADERSHIP that the aggrieved communities have, in the last  few months, become areas for sea pirates to show their abilities on defenseless seafarers by way of forcefully collecting their valuables.