Piracy threat "very serious," must be fought: NATO

ACCRA (Reuters) - The threat from piracy off the Horn of Africa and elsewhere is a "very serious challenge" and must be fought by the international community, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Thursday.

He said that NATO warships were already escorting food aid shipments to Somalia and patrolling the Gulf of Aden, but he did not see the alliance getting involved in any land operations against pirate bases in the region.

"I do not expect a NATO role in operations to wipe out piracy in the Horn of Africa," de Hoop Scheffer told reporters during a visit to Ghana.

(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Writing by Pascal Fletcher)