France: Pirates Captured, Hostages Freed

6 Pirates Apprehended After They Release 30 Crew Members They Held On Yacht Off Somalia

(AP)  Helicopter-borne French troops swooped in on Somali pirates Friday after they freed 30 hostages from a yacht, seizing six of the hijackers and recovering sacks of money — apparently ransom paid by the ship's owners.

The pirates boarded the 288-foot French luxury yacht Le Ponant a week ago, capturing its crew — 22 of whom were French — off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. Pirates seized more than two dozen vessels off the Somali coast last year, mostly in hopes of securing ransoms.

Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, the chief of staff of France's armed forces, said the pirates released the hostages after negotiations with the ship's owner. That phase of the operation was calm, with no weapons fired, he said. The hostages were brought smoothly to safely and the pirates went ashore.

Once the pirates were on Somali territory, a French attack helicopter chased a vehicle carrying some of them, firing to destroy its engine, the general said.

There were conflicting reports about what happened next.

Dahir Abdulqadir, a Somali governor in the region near where the yacht was held, said officials had heard "reports over VHF radio that at least eight people were killed." But the office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy denied any pirates died in the raid.

Georgelin said six pirates — out of a dozen hostage-takers — were taken into custody and would be tried in French courts. All six "gave themselves up without too much difficulty," he added.

While insisting France did not pay a ransom, the general indicated the yacht's owners did.

"Naturally, absolutely no public money was paid in this affair," Georgelin said. He added: "Check with the ship owner. In capturing the pirates, we also recovered some interesting bags ... We recovered part of the ransom that was probably paid."

An official in Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region had warned France against paying a ransom, saying it would encourage pirates to take more hostages.

The chief of the company that owns the ship declined comment.

"It's obviously a very delicate and difficult context, and so the only thing you should take from this is the outcome — crew members who are going to be able to go home to their families," Jean-Emmanuel Sauvee told reporters after meeting with Sarkozy and families of the freed hostages.

Karim Meghoufel, the brother-in-law of a pastry chef aboard the boat, added, "We don't know how much they paid, and in any case, we don't want to know."

The hostages, including six Filipinos and a Ukrainian, were in good condition, officials said. Abdi-salan Qoje, a fisherman working on the Somali shore, said he saw dozens of people being ferried from the hijacked ship.

"They waved at us," he told The Associated Press by telephone from the village of Eyl, about 300 miles north of Mogadishu, capital of Somalia.

After the hostages were freed, they were put on a French military vessel and sent toward Djibouti. Relatives said they were expected in France on Sunday.

According to the ship owner's Web site, the three-mast, 64-passenger Le Ponant features four decks, two restaurants, and indoor and outdoor luxury lounges. About a dozen pirates stormed the yacht April 4 as it was returning without passengers from the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, toward the Mediterranean Sea.

France's military quickly mobilized, sending in vessels and a commando force that conducts anti-terrorist and hostage rescue operations.

Somalia has been wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy and does not have its own navy. A transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control.

Sarkozy's chief diplomatic aide, Jean-David Levitte, said France planned to put forth anti-piracy measures at the U.N. Security Council. One suggestion is for states that can afford it to provide maritime patrols in waters where pirate attacks are a problem, he said.

Levitte said 3,200 people have been taken hostage at sea in the last 10 years in trouble spots around the world, with 500 of them wounded and 160 killed.

"We thought piracy had disappeared, but it has been revealed as a growing menace to international security," he said.

[swwils]

Man, the French on the move!That was some Hollywood S@#$,they didn''t horse around.French commando''s good job.I watched that special report on Piracy,and there is some 3,000 ships that get jacked a year,but it is never reported.Insurance and corporate corruption.

[glock4me]

Stunning!! Were the troops actual Frenchmen? You know the most fearsome fighting unit the Frogs have is the French Foreign Legion... which is comprised entirely of foreigners (non-French).

[heraldtkel]

That suprises us, the french are well known for being cowards. www.theoandavirus.com

[cfin5]

cfin5 and mudrose - you just can''''t resist pointing out to the world what closed minded little ********* you really are, can you.

Posted by USBrit at 04:20 PM : Apr 11, 2008-----You know something guys? My ancestors were from Scotland, so I thought about this post some more tonight and got to grinning about this Brits comment about me being "little". Don''t mind him exercising OUR 1st. Amendment rights at all. I''m sure England would like to have the wealth of rights that we EARNED from them I guess. It''s rather refreshing to have someone speak their mind''s attitude towards me with honesty. Nobody when seeing me does that, and I can tell it right off the bat. Wonder why that is? I''m not a meany,.....but my arms have never been laid either. Someday that will happen as there is always someone physically stronger than you are. But when it does happen, I hope it will be an AMERICAN!

[downsteamjim]

To Carpriddler: A few years ago in west Africa, France nearly made history by getting caught between two factions and almost losing to both at the same time. But all in all, I''m glad to see France give pirates get what they deserve.

[bgwinnett]

Alle le France

Alle le Muscadet LOL.

[carpriddler]

Americans, especially that group in Utah, hate the French because they survived WWII without ending up in concentration camps. When American are in France they seem to not want to leave. The French military kicks butt all the time. Go eat some freedom fries cooked in oil you fat people love so much.

[fibonacci_]

Questionnews, exactly, idiotic, prudish, Christian Americans do not even allow you to post s*ex here.

[questionnews]

cfin5 and mudrose - you just can''''t resist pointing out to the world what closed minded little ********* you really are, can you.

Posted by USBrit at 04:20 PM : Apr 11, 2008

How do you get away with posting "*********" yet one cannot even spell the words like Dic.k Van D.yke.
See--*** Van ***

[cfin5]

cfin5 and mudrose - you just can''''t resist pointing out to the world what closed minded little ********* you really are, can you.

Posted by USBrit at 04:20 PM : Apr 11, 2008-----I wouldn''t talk too much if I were you. Read your "enlightened" defense of Jimmy Carter, the islamoweed farmer. I''ll suggest Benjamin Netanyahu has the answer.