|
|
Somalia: Somali pirates allowed Muslim hostages to fast, pray
Mon. October 06, 2008 09:20 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. -
(SomaliNet) News reports said on Sunday that Somali pirates pointed guns habitually at Malaysian and Filipino tanker crew members held captive for weeks, but allowed Muslim hostages to fast and pray to observe the holy month of Ramadan.
Nearly a week after the pirates freed them following the payment of an unspecified ransom, the 79 crew members of two Malaysian vessels hijacked separately off the coast of Somalia in August were flown back to Malaysia on Saturday.
Their narration of their time in captivity provided a glimpse into the behaviour of Somalia's sea bandits at a time when the shipping lanes off the African country's lawless coast have turned into the world's most perilous waterway.
Malaysian crew member Baharudin Mohamed said the pirates were "fond of pointing their guns at us throughout the ordeal," the national news agency Bernama reported.
"We could not understand their language," he said.
"That sometimes resulted in the pirates turning aggressive. However, they were accommodative when we requested to pray and we were able to fulfil our religious obligations" during the Ramadan fasting month that ended last week.
Pirates hijacked the two ships in the Gulf of Aden north of Somalia, which has not had a functioning government since 1991. One Filipino crew member died in the raid.
Dozens of vessels have been attacked in the notorious African waters this year, including four failed attempts in a single day last week. Pirates are demanding a $20-million (about R14-million) ransom for a Ukrainian cargo ship that was seized September 25 as it transported 33 Soviet-designed tanks and heavy weapons to a Kenyan port.
The Malaysian crew said the pirates accidentally killed a Filipino while seizing their ship.
The pirates "fired a warning shot which unfortunately ricocheted off the ceiling and penetrated his head," crew member Nuzaihan Abd Rani was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
Crew members said the pirates approached their tankers in speed boats that looked like innocuous fishing vessels. Once they were close enough, they fired gunshots and climbed aboard.
Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's Malaysian-based piracy reporting centre, said 12 ships with more than 250 crew remained in the hands of pirates as of Friday.
"To be fair, if all ships maintain a 24-hour radar watch, the chances of them escaping is high," Choong said.
"Once they keep a 24-hour watch, they can assess every small ship and they can take evasive measures and call for help." - Sapa-AP
News Category: Somalia
Latest Headlines
|
News 
