Switzerland may send soldiers to protect ships off Somalia coast

Switzerland may area soldiers aboard Swiss merchant ships seafaring in waters near Somalia to fend off the threat of pirates, local communication reported on Sunday.
"There is no other mixture than to send soldiers if our ships are threatened," Swiss President Pascal Couchepin was cited as saying by the Sonntags Zeitung paper.
Couchepin, who is also the country's interior official, said the Swiss cabinet had not made a final decision, but its place was clear on this issue.
He said the Swiss authorities was now reviewing "what legal, financial and practical consequences" such an action would have.
Somali marauders have recently made frequent assaults on merchant ships sailing in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Given the seriousness of the threat, the UN Security Council has authorized states to take actions to fight piracy in nearby waters of Somalia.
Landlocked Switzerland has a trader fleet of 35 ships -- primarily container vessels -- on the high seas.