Pirates reject mediator

Published October 13, 2008

MOGADISHU, Oct 12: Pirates holding a Ukrainian arms ship off the Somali coast have rejected a local mediator, delaying efforts to free the freighter laden with battle tanks and others arms, elders and a pirate said on Sunday.

They said the pirates had agreed on Saturday to free the ship, hijacked on Sept 25 while headed to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, but later walked out of the deal insisting that Somali mediators be withdrawn.

“The talks between pirates and ship owners totally stopped yesterday (Saturday) after the pirates insisted Somali brokers be removed from the process to negotiate,” said Ahmed Abshir Hasan, an elder in the pirates’ lair of Harardhere.

“The commanders of the pirates on the ship reported to us that the talks totally stopped, we don’t know why they refused those brokers in the last minutes after working between them for the last week,” he said.

Elders in Harardhere, about 100 kilometres south of Hobyo, where the MV Faina with 21 crew members is anchored, said the hijackers had settled for a $10-million-dollar ransom.

They had initially demanded $35 million before dropping the figure to 20 million.—AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Falling temperatures
Updated 04 Jan, 2025

Falling temperatures

Vitally important for stakeholders to acknowledge, understand politicians can still challenge opposing parties’ narratives without also being in a constant state of war with each other.
Agriculture census
04 Jan, 2025

Agriculture census

ACCURATE information relating to agricultural activities is vital for data-driven future planning, policymaking, as...
Biometrics for kids
04 Jan, 2025

Biometrics for kids

ALTHOUGH the move has caused a panic among weary parents mortified at the thought of carting their children to Nadra...
Kurram peace deal
03 Jan, 2025

Kurram peace deal

It is the state’s responsibility to ensure that people of all sects can travel to and from the district without fear.
Pension reform
03 Jan, 2025

Pension reform

THE federal government has finally implemented several parametric reforms introduced in the last two budgets to...
The Indian hand
03 Jan, 2025

The Indian hand

OFFICIALS of the Modi regime were operating under a rather warped sense of reality, playing out Bollywood fantasies...