Somalia: French Warship hot on Le Ponant's trail
The 288 foot yacht is reported to be anchored in the small Somali port of Eyl, a known pirate base located about 310 miles north of Mogadishu, the Somali capital. 10 pirates armed with automatic weapons and rocket launchers stormed the ship by way of a staircase leading to the upper decks from a swimming deck at sea-level.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said everything would be done to avoid bloodshed and did not rule out paying a ransom to free the crew. "We've made contact and the matter could last a long time," Mr Kouchner told France Inter radio.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin earlier said a military operation to free the crew would only be attempted if their safety could be guaranteed.
The French coastal frigate, Le Commandant Bouan, has been diverted from Nato duties to track the yacht and a French military plane based in Djibouti has overflown the vessel. A Canadian helicopter on the HMCS Charlottetown also was taking part in the operation, the Associated Press (AP) said. Officials in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, in north-eastern Somalia, said the Ponant had anchored nearby. The French company that owns the vessel, CMA-CGM, said on Sunday that its crew were thought to be unharmed.
The French coastal frigate, Le Commandant Bouan, has been diverted from Nato duties to track the yacht and a French military plane based in Djibouti has overflown the vessel. A Canadian helicopter on the HMCS Charlottetown also was taking part in the operation, the Associated Press (AP) said. Officials in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, in north-eastern Somalia, said the Ponant had anchored nearby. The French company that owns the vessel, CMA-CGM, said on Sunday that its crew were thought to be unharmed.
Of the 30 crew members; 22 are French citizens the rest are thought to be Ukrainians and Koreans. Six women are on board.
Have a look at Eyl's town center via some guy named Sool's home movie. (Warning: Wavy gravy - bring your dramamine.) And yes, the only thing moving downtown is a ... goat. Our host, Sool, has this to say about the place: "this place is a lost town where only 2 cars a in 2 weeks come it's so nice a cool place to chill." (Okay, it's not exactly what I pictured a pirate's lair to look like. Where are all the wenches and the rum? Islamo-pirates don't have much fun as regular pirates, I guess. Although, now that I think on it, that goat WAS walking a bit gingerly!)
Eyl's other claims to fame? Eyl is the home of the MAD MULLAH - the guy that brought you the CARNAGE OF CIISE MAXAMUD.
The carnage of the Ciise Maxamuud is known as the "Bloodshed of Ilig Daldala" where bundles of hundreds where thrown from the peak of the rocks of Ilig into the sea. Towards the end of 1912 at least one third of the pastoral Somalis perished in the chaos.-end-
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