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| Africa Horn |
| French attack Somali pirates, free captured yacht |
| 2009-04-10 |
| Well, at least somebody's doing something over there... One French hostage has died and four others have been freed in a rescue operation by French troops on a yacht off Somalia, French officials say. Two pirates were killed in the operation and three were captured, the French presidency says. Two French couples had been seized with a child, who was among those freed from the yacht, Tanit, seized last week. In another development on Friday, pirates released a Norwegian cargo ship, the Bow Asir, and its crew, the vessel's owners said. The Bow Asir had been held since 26 March. The French operation to free those on board the Tanit - the third time French troops have freed hostages from pirates - began late on Thursday, five days after the yacht was seized, the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy said. Negotiations with the pirates which began earlier this week had failed to secure the release of the hostages, the president's spokesman said. When talks broke down troops immobilised the vessel before moving in, the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby reports from Paris. "With the threats becoming more and more specific, the pirates refusing the offers made to them and the [yacht] heading towards the coast, an operation to free the hostages was decided upon," he said. The spokesman confirmed that one of the hostages was killed, but added that the others - including the child - were now "safe and sound". Earlier in the week Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had left open the possibility that troops could launch an effort to free the French hostages, telling reporters French officials knew the location of the Tanit. ...and our hostages sound like a couple of beauties. However, it also emerged that the families on board the yacht, which was reported to be heading down to Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, were urged not to travel through the Gulf of Aden. The region has become a haven for pirates and is the scene of frequent seizures and attacks on international shipping. A spokesman for the French foreign ministry said the couple - named as Chloe and Florent Lemacon - were "repeatedly warned" not to travel through the area. "It is difficult to understand why these warnings were not heeded," spokesman Eric Chevallier said. Certainment, zee pirates will not bother us... The couple had refurbished the Tanit, a 12.5m (41ft) boat, and given up jobs in a bid to escape consumer society and navigate a route along the African coast to Zanzibar. I often wish I had a yacht to escape "consumer society"... Speaking to French newspaper Ouest France, Mr Lemacon said they wanted to change their priorities in life. "We don't want our child to receive the sort of education that the government is concocting for us. We have got rid of the television and everything that seemed superfluous to concentrate on what is essential," he said. We would, however, like the government to bail us out when zee pirates kidnap our pretentious asses... |
| Posted by:tu3031 |