Somali troops carry a ladder used by pirates to board the Dubai-flagged ship Al-Khaleej in northern port town of Bosasso, April 22, 2008. Somali troops stormed the Dubai-flagged ship on Tuesday that had been hijacked off the Horn of Africa nation, releasing its crew and arresting seven pirates, authorities said.
Photo: Reuters
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Condition of Russians Captured by Pirates Is Critical
Russia’s authorities spare no efforts to release sailors that the Somali pirates captured three weeks ago. The negotiations with criminals aren’t public not to aggravate the situation, the RF Foreign Ministry announced.
Relatives of sailors that were at Lehman Timber and Amia Scan ships captured by the Somali pirates have addressed the governments of Russia, Ukraine and Estonia seeking their help. The condition of hostages is critical after more than 20 days of their capture.
The pirates hijacked a ship of German Lehman Timber near Somali in late May and captured the crew of 15 sailors from Russia, Ukraine, Estonia and Myanmar.
Amia Scan with four Russia’s officers aboard was hijacked earlier, on May 26.
Despite the recently passed resolution of the UN that sanctions foreign states to use any methods against pirates in the Somali waters, Russia refrains from using the force. The pirates threaten to shoot dead the captives if the troops storm to release sailors.
The negotiations about the ransom are underway. The pirates demand $1.1 million.
www.kommersant.com
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