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Pirates Stick To Ransom Demand:
Staring Down US Warships And
Helicopters |
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October 2, 2008 Somali pirates who hijacked
a ship laden with tanks and heavy weapons
stared down US warships and helicopters again
Wednesday, making no move to withdraw their
$20-million (about R166-million) ransom demand
or give up after a seven-day standoff in the
Indian Ocean.
The hijacking of the Ukrainian cargo ship MV
Faina - carrying 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks,
rifles, and heavy weapons that US defence
officials have said included rocket launchers
- was the highest-profile act of piracy in the
dangerous waters off Somalia in 2008.
The US Navy says it wants to keep the arms out
of the hands of militants linked to al-Qaeda
in impoverished Somalia, a key battleground in
the war on terrorism.
To that end, it has surrounded the Faina,
anchored off the central Somali town of Hobyo,
with half a dozen ships, including USS guided
missile destroyer USS Howard.
An official in Washington, speaking on
condition of anonymity because he was not
authorised to talk on the record, said
disagreements among the pirates led to a
shootout Monday night that US officials
believe killed three pirates.
He would not elaborate how US officials knew
this information, but the USS Howard, which is
within 10 miles of the hijacked ship, has
sophisticated weapons and monitoring
equipment.
A spokesperson for the pirates denied the
shootout report, saying the pirates were
celebrating the Islamic holiday that marks the
end of the holy month of Ramadan.
"We are happy on the ship and we are
celebrating (Eid al-Fitr)," spokesperson
Sugule Ali told The Associated Press by
satellite telephone on Tuesday. "Nothing has
changed."
"We didn't dispute over a single thing, let
alone have a shootout," Ali said.
On Wednesday, his phone rang and rang but no
one picked it up. A spokesperson for the US
5th fleet in Manama, Bahrain, the control
point for the USS Howard, said they had no new
developments on the standoff on Wednesday.
Piracy is a lucrative criminal racket in the
region, bringing in tens of millions of
dollars a year. There have been 24 reported
attacks in Somalia this year, according to the
International Maritime Bureau.
US officials said 40-50 pirates were involved
in the hijacking, but only about 30 were on
the ship itself.
US Navy officials from the 5th Fleet said they
have allowed the pirates to resupply the ship
with food and water, but not to unload any of
its military cargo.
Ukrainian news agencies have said the ship's
operator is Tomex Team, based in the Black Sea
port of Odessa.
The US fears the armaments may end up with the
militants who have been waging an insurgency
against the shaky, UN-backed Somali
transitional government since late 2006, when
the Islamic fighters were driven out after six
months in power. More than 9 000 people have
been killed in the Iraq-style insurgency.
American military officials and diplomats say
the weapons are destined for southern Sudan,
but Kenyan officials insist the weapons are
bound for their country.
The Faina had a crew of 21, mostly Ukrainians,
but a man who has been identified as the first
mate, Vladimir Nikolsky, told The Associated
Press on Sunday that one man died of
hypertension. Russian media said it was the
freighter's captain, Vladimir Kolobkov.
In a telephone conversation posted on the Web
site Life.ru and apparently initiated by the
news site, a man identifying himself as
Nikolsky made what sounded like a coded call
for help, repeating a Russian word for "seals"
three times - an apparent reference to a
possible amphibious rescue.
The Russian guided missile frigate
Neustrashimy, or Intrepid, is travelling to
the area, but was not expected for several
days.
Russia has used force in the past to end
several hostage situations - sometimes
disastrously, as in the 2004 storming of a
school in Beslan, which resulted in 333
deaths, nearly half of them children.
Most pirate attacks occur in the Gulf of Aden,
one of the world's busiest shipping lanes,
north of Somalia. But recently pirates have
been targeting Indian Ocean waters off eastern
Somalia.
Some 62 ships have been attacked in the
notorious African waters in 2008. A total of
26 ships were hijacked, and 12 remain in the
hands of the pirates along with more than 200
crew members.
International warships patrol the area and
have created a special security corridor under
a US-led initiative, but attacks have not
abated. |
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