The United Nations is concerned about the possibility of collaboration between pirates and government officials in Somalia's Puntland region, according to a new UN report prepared by the office of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the Security Council. It said that it had identified two main piracy networks in Somalia – one in the semi-autonomous northern Puntland region and the other based in the Eyl district. Pirates have been seizing vessels in the Gulf of Aden, hijacking dozens of ships last year and taking tens of millions of dollars in ransom payments.
