Jung said in an interview with German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag that under existing law, police were responsible for hostage situations, but that it was not always possible for the police force to arrive quickly enough at a crime scene.

The minister cited the recent episode involving German container ship the Hansa Stavanger, which was hijacked with 24 crew on board, including five Germans, off the coast of Somalia four months ago.

He said that in the time it took a German police team to deploy to the Horn of Africa the situation had worsened. Only five pirates had boarded the ship initially, but their numbers eventually swelled to around 35, he noted.

"We should consider a constitutional amendment to allow the armed forces access to situations when the police cannot act, such as when the police are not at the scene of an incident," Jung told the newspaper.

"I want to put this on the agenda again at the latest when the parliamentary elections are over," he added. Germans go to the polls to elect a new parliament in September.

Jung said the amendment should not only apply to international operations but also to certain domestic cases in which the German armed forces were better suited to handle a situation.

The Hansa Stavanger was eventually released four months after being captured when the Hamburg-based shipping company that owns the ship paid a 1.9-million-euro ransom.

dfm/dpa/AFP

Editor: Andreas Illmer