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Somalia: Somali Pirates demands $2-million for release of German couple Wed. July 02, 2008 02:40 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. - (SomaliNet) An intermediary in the negotiations said on Tuesday that Somali pirates are demanding $2-million for the release of a German couple seized off the lawless Horn of Africa nation's coast. The Somali Pirates abducted the couple on June 23 as they sailed through the Gulf of Aden on a trip from Egypt to Thailand. Sources said the kidnappers then abandoned the yacht on the shore and disappeared into a nearby mountainous area with their hostages. The intermediary said while the couple is in good health and being treated well, the man suffers from diabetes and has not had access to insulin for several days. Talks over the release of German cargo ship the MV Lehmann Timber are also in deadlock and concerns are growing for the welfare of the crew, four of whom are said to be ill and in urgent need of medical treatment. Piracy is rife off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation. Cargo ships and luxury yachts have been targeted by heavily-armed pirates, who then hold the crew ransom. The most high-profile case in recent months involved the capture of a luxury French yacht in April. French troops rescued the hostages and captured six of the pirates, although another six are believed to have escaped. The United Nations Security Council recently approved incursions into Somali waters to curb piracy, which the weak transitional government, currently engaged in countering a bloody insurgency, is powerless to prevent. Somalia has been in a state of anarchy since the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. - Sapa-dpa News Category: Somalia Latest Headlines Latest News Somalia: Pirates attack six more ships off of Somal... Uganda: ICC renews calls for arrest of LRA chie... Somalia: Aid agencies welcome in central Somalia- I... U.S Elections: Obama widens leading margins over McCa... Zimbabwe: Opposition, ruling party fail to meet ZAMBIA: NO TRAVEL ALERTS FOLLOWING DEADLY DIESEASE Somalia: Over 50 aid agencies criticize humanitari... We'll fight to death before surrendering to U.S., R... Somalia: ‘Bomb’ injures Italian UN official in Soma... Kenyan MPs urge probe of weapons seized by pirates ... More News...