http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200804/20080429079993.html
西班牙：中國應加入反索馬利亞海盜武力
法新社╱簡長盛 2008-04-29 12:20     
 
 
（法新社馬德里二十九日電）西班牙總理薩巴德洛今天說，中國和其他在索馬利亞附近海域從事捕撈作業的國家，應參加擬議中由聯合國支持的反海盜武力。

他告訴西班牙公共電視台，在這個已成極端危險區域捕魚的國家，如中國、日本、南韓和法國，應參加確保安全的聯合武力。

他接著說：「這是一個廣大的區域，需要不同國家的共同努力，我們才可以繼續在那裡捕魚。」

配備槍榴彈的海盜於二十日在索馬利亞外海劫持一艘西班牙拖網漁船和船上的二十六名船員，西班牙隨即加入呼籲成立一支聯合國部隊以對抗海盜。

這艘漁船和十三名西班牙船員及十三名非洲船員已於二十七日獲釋。

肯亞的一個地區海洋團體說，這艘漁船是在付出一百二十萬美元贖金後獲釋，但西班牙政府說，它並沒有交錢給劫持人質者。

索馬利亞附近海域已被認為是全世界最危險的海域。索馬利亞長達十七年缺乏一個有效的中央政府，非常不安全。

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080428%5cACQDJON200804282230DOWJONESDJONLINE000749.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Spain%20Asks%20China,Others%20To%20Aid%20Anti-Piracy%20Force%20Off%20Somalia

Spain Asks China,Others To Aid Anti-Piracy Force Off Somalia

MADRID (AFP)--China and other Asian nations that fish off the coast of Somalia should take part in a proposed UN-backed force to combat maritime piracy, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said late Monday.

"Countries like China, Japan, South Korea and France that are fishing in that area, which has become especially dangerous, should take part in a joint force that guarantees safety," he told public television TVE.

"It is a wide area, it is an area that requires joint efforts from various countries so that we can continue to fish there," he added.

Spain has joined calls for a United Nations-backed force to combat maritime piracy since pirates armed with grenade launchers seized a Spanish trawler, the Playa de Bakio, and its crew of 26 off Somalia on April 20.

The ship and its crew of 13 Spaniards and 13 Africans were released unharmed on Saturday.

A Kenyan-based regional maritime group says the release followed the payment of a ransom of $1.2 million, but the Spanish government has said it did not hand over any money to the captors.

The coastal waters of Somalia - which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity - are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world.

At the start of April pirates held a crew of 30 aboard a luxury French yacht, before a ransom was paid and the sailors were released. French special forces later captured some of the alleged pirates. Six men are now to face trial in Paris.

More than 25 ships were seized by pirates in Somali coastal waters last year despite U.S. navy patrols, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

It advises merchant ships to stay at least 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the country's coast.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200804/20080427075203.html
海盜釋放西班牙漁船 傳贖金達120萬美元
法新社╱樊劍萍 2008-04-27 20:50     
 
 
（法新社奈洛比二十七日電）一位海運官員今天說，一艘在索馬利亞海岸外被劫持六天的西班牙漁船，在付出一百二十萬美元贖金後已經被海盜釋放。

「海員協助計畫」肯亞分部人員馬萬古拉發表聲明說：「付出一百二十萬美元贖金後，西班牙漁船Playade Badio號已經獲釋。」

這艘漁船於昨天釋獲，目前正在一艘西班牙巡防艦的護送下駛往塞席爾，預料將在二十九日停泊維多利亞港。

西班牙媒體昨天報導，海盜要求一百萬歐元（一百五十五萬美元）的贖金，談判是在倫敦的一家旅館進行。

西班牙政府表示，政府與綁匪「並沒有正式接觸」，但不排除漁船的船東與海盜直接接觸的可能，這艘漁船的船東來自西班牙北部的巴斯克地區。

這艘七十六公尺長的西班牙拖網漁船，在索馬利亞外海捕捉鮪魚時，被武裝海盜挾持。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080427/wl_africa_afp/spainsomaliapiracy_080427094300;_ylt=AuGH5enwxUf8V5HeSqI6AGqXsdEF
Spanish fishing boat freed for $1.2 mln off Somalia

Sun Apr 27, 5:43 AM ET

NAIROBI (AFP) - A Spanish fishing boat seized by pirates off the Somali coast and held for six days was freed after a 1.2 million-dollar ransom was paid, a maritime official said Sunday.
 
"The Spanish fishing boat Playa de Bakio has been released after a ransom of 1.2 million dollars was paid," Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme said in a statement.

The boat was freed on Saturday and headed towards the Seychelles under the escort of a Spanish frigate. It is expected to dock at port Victoria on Tuesday.

Mwangura said the boat, which was captured on April 20, "suffered heavy damage caused by gun fire and looting during the piracy attack."

On Saturday, Spanish news media said that a ransom of one million euros (1.55 million dollars) had been demanded and that negotiations were taking place at a London hotel.

But the Spanish government had said there had been "no official contact"with the kidnappers, while not ruling out the possibility of direct contact between the pirates and the boat's owners, who are from the northern Basque region.

Armed pirates seized the 76-metre (250-foot) trawler and its crew were while fishing for tuna off Somalia.

The Spanish government sent a frigate, the Mendez Nunez, to the area from the Red Sea, and a surveillance plane to the French military base in neighbouring Djibouti to carry out reconnaissance.

The coastal waters off Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity, are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world.

More than 25 ships were seized by pirates in Somali coastal waters last year despite US navy patrols, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200804/20080427074887.html
西班牙政府：遭索馬利亞海盜挾持漁船獲釋
法新社╱鄭詩韻 2008-04-27 13:35     
 
 
（法新社馬德里二十六日電）西班牙副總理費南德茲女士今天說，一艘在索馬利亞外海被海盜挾持的西班牙漁船船員已經獲釋，二十六名船員「十分健康」。

她說，這艘「Playa de Bakio」號拖網漁船，在西班牙船艦護送下被帶到「安全海域」，政府正在擬定計畫，將這十三名西班牙與十三名非洲船員送回國內。

她在記者會上並未說明船員是在何種狀況下獲釋，或是否有交付贖款。

她僅表示，船員獲釋是政府與船東共同努力，以及政府「外交工作」的結果。

西班牙新聞媒體稍早說，綁匪要求一百萬歐元（四千七百三十二萬台幣）贖款，談判在倫敦一家飯店進行。

這艘七十六公尺長的拖網漁船與船員，四月二十日在索馬利亞外海捕鮪魚時，被持有榴彈發射器的海盜挾持。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080425/wl_africa_afp/spainsomaliapiracy_080425175419;_ylt=Ai27Qv1DosILMnE27VFbNkaXsdEF
Spain presses efforts for release of hostages in Somalia

Fri Apr 25, 1:54 PM ET

MADRID (AFP) - Spain said Friday it was pressing ahead with diplomatic efforts to secure the release of a Spanish trawler and its crew of 26 who were hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia at the weekend.

"The government is permanently mobilised to resolve this situation, with the main priority being safeguarding of the safety of the 26 crew members of the trawler," Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa de la Vega told a news conference.

Madrid was "working on all fronts" and carrying out "intensive diplomatic and operational activities" to deal with the situation, she said.

The 76-metre-long (250-foot-long) Playa de Bakio with its crew of 13 Spaniards and 13 Africans was seized while fishing for tuna in the waters off Somalia on Sunday by pirates armed with grenade launchers.

Spain's ambassador to Kenya has since held talks with officials in Mogadishu, including Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, to try to secure their release.

Spain has also dispatched a frigate, the Mendez Nunez, to the waters off Somalia as well as a Spanish air force reconnaissance plane to Djibouti which neighbours Somalia.

The pirates are believed to be seeking a ransom payment.

Asked about the state of talks with the captors of the boat, de la Vega declined to give details, stressing the need for discretion and asking that the media demonstrate "a sense of responsibility and willingness to co-operate."

"I am hopeful of a quick and satisfactory resolution to the hijacking," she added.

Several crew members of the boat who have spoken to family members in Spain by telephone in recent days have said that all of the hostages are well.

The coastal waters off Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity, are considered to be among the most dangerous waterways for shipping in the world.

Last year more than 25 ships were seized by pirates in Somali coastal waters despite US navy patrols, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

It advises merchant ships to stay at least 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from the country's coast.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200804/20080422059363.html
日油輪葉門外海遭海盜襲擊 船身受損無傷亡
法新社╱樊劍萍 2008-04-22 00:20     
 
 
（法新社東京二十一日電）日本政府官員與日本油輪的船員說，日本油輪「高山」號今天在索馬利亞與葉門外海被一艘武裝海盜船追逐攻擊，這艘油輪的船身受損，但船員無人傷亡。

索馬利亞沿岸水域經常發生海盜攻擊往來船隻事件，這是全世界最危險海上航線之一。

日本郵船公司宣布，該公司十五萬噸的「高山」號在當地時間凌晨四時四十分左右遭海盜攻擊，船身受損，但仍能藉本身動力繼續航行。

一名船員接受「日本廣播公司」訪問時說：「我們首先聽到一聲巨響，接著這批海盜就追逐攻擊了大約一小時。他們朝油輪的左舷與右舷發動至少四次攻擊。」

日本官員說，攻擊事件發生在葉門亞丁港外海約四百四十公里的公海上。

日本政府發言人內閣官房長官町村信孝對記者說：「我們接獲的情報指出，一艘小型海盜船持類似火箭發射器的武器，攻擊這艘日本油輪。」

日本郵船公司在聲明中指出，這艘日本油輪上當時有十六名菲律賓船員與七名日本船員。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080421/wl_mideast_afp/japanyemensomaliashippingunrestpiracy_080421123519;_ylt=AlXxLBU1gV4cGpn8lLvtMi6aOrgF
Pirates attack Japanese tanker near Yemen

by Shigemi Sato
Mon Apr 21, 8:35 AM ET

TOKYO (AFP) - A major Japanese oil tanker was damaged Monday in a chase by heavily-armed pirates off the coasts of Somalia and Yemen but no one was injured, officials and crew members said.
 
The attack came a day after a Spanish tuna fishing boat carrying a crew of 26 was seized by pirates in waters off Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years.

The area is plagued by insecurity and considered to be among the most dangerous waterways for shipping in the world.

The 150,000-tonne tanker Takayama, with a crew of 23, sustained damage but was able to sail on its own power after the attack at about 4:40 am local time (0140 GMT), its owner and operator Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line) said here.

"We heard one big boom at first and then we were chased by the group for about an hour," a crew member told Japanese public broadcaster NHK. "We were attacked on the left and the right sides of the ship at least four times."

The attack occurred in international waters some 440 kilometres (275 miles) east of the Yemeni port of Aden, Japanese officials said.

"We have received information that the tanker was attacked by a small pirate ship with weapons like rocket launchers," chief Japanese government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura told reporters.

Nippon Yusen said one unidentified boat was involved in the attack, while a Japan Coast Guard official said the number of vessels operated by the pirates had yet to be confirmed.

The tanker's crew included 16 Filipinos and seven Japanese, the shipping company said.

The ship suffered small punctures and leaked a small amount of oil, said Shousuke Hamada, who manages the ship's operations.

Noel Choong, head of the Malaysia-based International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre, told AFP that "pirates on five speed boats" attacked the tanker.

The tanker was on its way to the Saudi port of Yanbu in the Red Sea after unloading oil at the South Korean port of Ulsan when the attack happened, the company said.

Maritime security is a major concern for Japan, the world's second largest economy, which relies on the Middle East for nearly all of its oil.

Choong said there had been nine attacks in the Gulf of Aden since February.

The International Maritime Bureau has urged ships plying the gulf to maintain strict 24-hour anti-piracy vigilance against small, suspicious boats coming towards them.

In early April, a luxury French cruise yacht with around 30 crew was hijacked off the coast of Somalia.

The hostages were released when a ransom, believed to be around two million dollars (1.3 million euros), was paid.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200804/20080421057917.html
西班牙漁船索馬利亞外海遭海盜挾持
法新社╱鄭詩韻 2008-04-21 09:05
     
（法新社馬德里二十日電）西班牙外交部發言人告訴法新社，一艘載運二十六名船員的西班牙籍漁船，今天在索馬利亞外海被海盜挾持。

西班牙公共電台RNE稍早報導，這艘漁船「Playa de Bakio」號，在索馬利亞外海約四百公里處遭海盜攻擊，船上有十三名西班牙籍國民，與十三名外國籍船員眷屬。

電台報導，漁船正前往索馬利亞。外交部並未提供進一步細節。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080420/wl_africa_afp/spainsomaliapiracy_080420221655;_ylt=AoOLKieVLVL9vDg8kATNRQSXsdEF
Spanish fishing boat seized by pirates off coast of Somalia

Sun Apr 20, 6:16 PM ET

MADRID (AFP) - A Spanish tuna fishing boat carrying a crew of 26 was seized on Sunday by pirates off the Somali coast, Spain's foreign ministry said, adding no one was injured in the attack.
 
The Playa de Bakio "was boarded and apparently seized while it was fishing in Somali waters" at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT), the ministry said in a statement.

Thirteen of the crew are Spanish nationals, it said, while Spanish media reported that their remaining 13 crewmates are African nationals.

Four pirates armed with grenade launchers seized the boat, which is based in the Basque town of Bremeo, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) off the coast of Somalia, Basque government officials told the Europa Press news agency.

The ship was damaged in the attack but it is still able to sail and it appears to be headed towards land, they added.

"The defence ministry has instructed one of its ships which is nearby to head immediately to the area of the incident," the foreign ministry's statement said.

A Spanish military frigate that was in the Red Sea was heading towards the are where the fishing boat was seized, a government source said.

The defence ministry has also been in contact with military officials of nations with a military presence in the area to request "logistics support and help in locating the affected boat, the statement added.

The seizure comes two days after a Paris court charged six Somalis with taking a the crew of the French luxury yacht Le Ponant hostage earlier this month.

The six were captured by French special forces, along with 200,000 dollars (125,000 euros) of suspected ransom money, after they released the 30-strong crew of the yacht on April 11 after holding the group hostage for a week off the coast of the self-proclaimed autonomous region of Puntland.

The Spanish fishing boat was seized in the same area where the French yacht was attacked, RNE added.

Earlier this month French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called on the United Nations to launch an "international initiative" to protect maritime shipping in areas where piracy is on the rise, such as off Somalia.

The coastal waters of Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity, are considered to be among the most hazardous in the world.

Last year more than 25 ships were seized by pirates in Somali coastal waters despite US navy patrols.

The International Maritime Bureau advises merchant ships to stay at least 200 nautical miles from the Somali coast because of the risk of piracy.

http://news.yam.com/cna/international/200804/20080415042995.html
遭海盜劫持法遊艇人質安全返法
中央社╱中央社 2008-04-15 07:28    

（中央社記者蔡筱穎巴黎十四日專電）四日在非洲索馬利亞外海遭海盜劫持的法國「波南號」三桅遊艇上的三十名人質，昨天晚上十九點三十五分抵達巴黎歐利機場，法國總統沙柯吉由國防部長毛林陪同親自前往機場迎接。

當空軍的空中巴士抵達時，受到了人質親友們的鼓掌歡迎，全部平安獲釋的人質又疲倦又興奮，在機場與親友重逢的擁抱場面極為感人，菲籍船員則在外交人員護送下迅速離開機場。

船長馬切蒐隨後對記者說明，雖然情勢一度緊張，但沒有遭受到人身或是口頭攻擊，他還描述，在那幾天，幾乎所有的人質都想到了在哥倫比亞的貝堂古夫人，只是他們是四星級船的人質，貝堂古夫人則是在叢林當中。

馬切蒐簡單的說明，當二十九名人質被釋放後，他就奮身跳進海裡，然後被法國軍方救起。而這期間，他們完全與世界斷絕訊息，所以不知道總統府接見了他們的親人。人質中的二十二名法國人隨後前往貴賓室接受沙柯吉的慰問致意。總統府是在十一日發布公告指出，經談判後三十名人質全部平安獲釋，而這些人質也在四天前從被營救的地點搭乘直升機到吉布地，並於昨天下午離開吉布地。

波南號遇劫，法國海軍立即組織大規模營救行動，就在海盜釋放人質大約一小時後，法軍發動攻擊逮捕了六名索馬利亞的海盜，並將送往法國受審，馬切蒐也證實有聽到開槍的聲音。法國政府強調並未以公款支付海盜人質贖金，海軍官員也指出，在海盜逃走後，法軍找到部分贖金。

巴黎檢察官同時宣布，已針對此案展開初步的調查，法國政府也將在聯合國提出建立防制海盜部隊的建議。總理費雍表示，由於國際法在一些國際海洋中不起作用，現在已無法照過去的方式來解決問題。所以法國將要求聯合國授權組織一支國際海防部隊，法國願意加入，在索馬利亞海域和麻六甲海峽等地執行維護航海運輸的安全。

http://news.chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-News/2007Cti-News-Content/0,4521,110504+112008041400349,00.html
中國時報 2008.04.14　
談判救回人質 法航母突擊逮海盜
潘勛／綜合巴黎十二日外電報導

　法國總統薩科奇11日表示，經談判後，4日在非洲索馬利亞外海遭海盜劫持的法國「波南號」豪華遊艇上30名人質全部平安獲釋。而法國官員說，法軍戰鬥群隨後發動突襲，逮捕了6名意圖脫逃的海盜。

　波南號遇劫之後，法國海軍立即組織大規模營救行動，包括1艘直升機航空母艦在內共2艘軍艦、4至5架艦載直升機及大約50名突擊隊員，一名海軍上將還空降到事發海域，負責指揮前線行動。

　11日海盜釋放波南號30名人質，其中有22名法國人。法軍參謀總長若熱蘭表示，政府並未以公款支付海盜人質贖金；「法新社」則引據消息人士報導，波南號船主為了人質安全獲釋，曾支付約200萬美元贖金。

　海盜釋放人質大約1小時後，上岸打算乘車離去，此時法軍發動攻擊，而「小羚羊」直升機上的狙擊手開火後，擊中該車引擎；3名法軍突擊隊員則由「黑豹」直升機跳下，逮6名海盜，並帶往泊停在附近的直升機航母羈押。

　若熱蘭表示，海盜逃逸時，法軍找到部分贖金，而海盜看似索馬利亞當地漁民。

　索馬利亞當地省長阿布都勒則稱，法軍派出多架直升機，發射不少火箭彈，造成至少5名當地人死亡，但法軍斷然否認在大白天的攻擊中射殺了任何人。

　法國海軍上將圭拉德表示，索馬利亞地區海盜劫持人質事件能如此迅速解決，這是第一次；另外，有海盜被擒獲也是第一次。法國官員表示，成擒的海盜將在法國受審；另外，巴黎當局7天內，將向聯合國安全理事會提出新的防制海盜方案。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200804/20080411033554.html
法國官員：索馬利亞海盜釋放豪華遊艇人質
法新社╱樊劍萍 2008-04-11 22:20     

 
 
（法新社巴黎十一日電）法國官員說，經過談判後，一週前在索馬利亞外海劫持一艘法國遊艇的索馬利亞海盜已經釋放他們扣押的三十名人質，使得此一事件和平落幕。

法國總統沙柯吉發表聲明說，「波南德號」上的人員在「沒有發生任何事件」的情形下獲釋，包括二十二名法國人。

法國軍方人士說，三十名人質是經過多次談判後才被釋放，軍方並未採取任何武裝干預行動。目前無法獲悉是否可能付出贖金。

這艘共有三十二個艙房的遊艇，於四月四日停泊在索馬利亞普特蘭外海時被海盜劫持。

法國總統府艾里賽宮發表聲明說：「總統宣布，在索馬利亞外海的波南德號上的三十名人質，包括二十二名法國人，都已經獲釋。」

沙柯吉表示，「感謝軍方與政府各部門提供的協助，使劫持人質事件得以在沒有發生任何事件的情形下迅速結束」。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080411/wl_afp/francesomaliapiracy_080411115357;_ylt=Ai.v.fe9wDVyceTUZvGvY9mQOrgF
Somali pirates end hostage-taking peacefully: French officials

by Philippe Alfroy and Herve Asquin
2 hours, 47 minutes ago

PARIS (AFP) - Pirates have freed the 30 crew from a French luxury sailing ship which was seized off Somalia one week ago and had been tailed by the French Navy, officials said Friday.
 
The hostages, including 22 French crew aboard Le Ponant, were freed "without incident," President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement.

A French military source said the 30 were freed after negotiations and there was no armed intervention. There was no information over whether a ransom was paid.

The 32-cabin vessel was hijacked on April 4. It had been anchored off Puntland, a breakaway northern region of Somalia, during the negotiations.

Owned by French charter company CMA-CGM, the three-mast sailboat was en route to the Mediterranean from the Seychelles when pirates boarded the vessel last Friday.

CMA-CGM spokesman Jean-Louis Gaudaire said Le Ponant was expected in Djibouti next Tuesday "without or without the crew. We do not yet have details on they way in which they will be repatriated."

"It takes several days of sailing from where they are to reach Djibouti and the boat goes a lot slower than the navy. It is possible the skipper will stay on board with navy crew to bring the boat back under escort," he said.

"The president of the republic announces the release of the 30 hostages, including 22 French nationals, of the Le Ponant sailboat, off the Somali coast," said the statement from the Elysee presidential palace.

Sarkozy expressed "his deep gratitude to the French army forces and all the state services who helped bring about a quick end, without incident, to this hostage taking."

Details of the release were expected to be made public following a meeting between Sarkozy and the hostages' families later Friday. A French official, who asked not to be named, said: "Not a shot was fired. It all took place calmly."

Valerie Garrec, whose 20-year-old son Thibaut was among the hostages, praised Sarkozy's handling of the crisis afer receiving a call from the president's office announcing the good news around midday.

"They said they were free and safe and we don't know anything more. Now I am waiting to speak to my son by phone," Garrec told AFP from her home in Brittany, in northern France.

Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said preparations were being made to return the freed hostages to France as soon as possible.

Kouchner announced earlier this week that France had entered into contact with the hostage takers as the Ponant anchored off the coast of Puntland, near the village of Garaad.

The crew also included six Filipinos and one Ukrainian.

Experts said the hostages were being held by the "Somali Marines," which they described as the most powerful gang of pirates operating off the coast of Somalia.

France sent a helicopter and navy vessels to the area, but Prime Minister Francois Fillon said authorities would not resort to force to win the hostages' release.

A French naval warship maintained close surveillance with troops from the French gendarmerie's elite counter-terrorism and hostage rescue unit stationed in nearby Djibouti.

Kouchner on Friday urged the international community to take action to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast and said talks were underway at the United Nations on the issue.

The foreign minister asked the UN Security Council to set up a surveillance system for navigation off the coast of Somalia, saying that some 230 to 300 boats were attacked in that area last year.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200804/20080405017288.html
索馬利亞海盜挾持豪華遊艇 法國全力營救
法新社╱盧瑞珠 2008-04-05 18:20   

 
 
（法新社巴黎五日電）法國當局今天積極營救一艘在索馬利亞外海被海盜俘虜的豪華遊艇波南德號，及船上三十名船員。

法國總理費雍昨晚表示：「國防部和外交部正努力儘快採取行動，我希望在很短的時間裡，可以讓人質儘快獲得釋放。」

他強調：「我們在那個區域有相對強大的軍事力量。」

海盜昨天登上三十二個艙房、船高四層的豪華遊艇波南德號時，該船正行駛在索馬利亞和葉門間的海域。

法國軍方表示，這艘三桅遊艇當時搭載三十名船員，沒有任何乘客。海盜不費一槍一彈就佔領遊艇。

法國昨天派遣一架直升機到遊艇上空偵察。法國在事發地點附近的吉布地，設有規模最大的海外軍事基地。

索馬利亞三千七百公里海岸線附近，時常發生海盜攻擊事件，國際海事局警告各國船隻不要靠近索馬利亞海岸兩百海里內的區域。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080405/wl_afp/francesomaliapiracytravel_080405091408;_ylt=An0AFFHUWY6QpKO9JnJ1_VOQOrgF
French minister says no contact yet with yacht hijackers

1 hour, 19 minutes ago

PARIS (AFP) - French authorities on Saturday said they had not had any contact so far with the pirates who seized a French luxury cruise yacht and its 30-member crew off the coast of Somalia.
 
"We have had no contact, neither with the crew of the boat nor with the pirates," Defence Minister Herve Morin said Saturday on France Inter radio when asked whether there had been a ransom demand, which is usual practice for pirates operating off the Somalian coast.

He refused to give any details of the emergency plan which French authorities implemented Friday to secure the ship's release.

Late Friday Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the defence and foreign ministries were working to obtain the release of the hostages, adding "We have relatively large military means in the area."

The 32-cabin, four-deck yacht the Ponant, was sailing between Somalia and Yemen when it was boarded by pirates on Friday. There were no passengers on board at the time.

Morin said about a dozen pirates were involved and that around 20 of the 30-strong crew were French, and the rest were Ukrainians.

France, which has its largest foreign military base in nearby Djibouti, flew a helicopter over the ship on Friday.

French military forces in the area and a Djibouti-based United States-led multinational force, Combined Task Force 150, "were able to confirm the situation and are following its evolution," French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck told AFP.

Pirate attacks are frequent off Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) coastline, prompting the International Maritime Bureau to advise sailors not to venture closer than 200 nautical miles to its shore.

Somalia, which lies at the mouth of the Red Sea on a major trade route between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal, has not had a functional government since the 1991 ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

The French navy has been called on in recent months to escort World Food Programme boats through Somali waters, after two of the agency's boats were stolen.

French shipping group CMA-CGM confirmed one of its boats had been seized in the Gulf of Aden, on its way back from the Indian Ocean's Seychelles islands to the Mediterranean.

It said it did not want to give further information "to avoid endangering its crew taken hostage."

While Somali pirates have mostly targeted cargo vessels, a boat carrying some 600 European tourists narrowly avoided being boarded in November 2005.

"You're looking at a powerful maritime mafia," said Olivier Hallaoui, of French security specialists Secopex.

"Most are fishermen-turned-bandits, with links to clans, local militias who realise this is a lucrative business because in almost every case ransoms are paid.

"They are equipped with GPS satellite and modern communications systems as well as heavy arms. Above all, they open fire without warning," he added.

The three-masted 850-tonne Ponant, equipped with lounges, bar and restaurant, had been due to host a cruise between Alexandria in Egypt and Valletta in Malta on April 21-22, its owner said.

The ship is one of three owned by the Marseille-based cruise operator Compagnie des Iles du Ponant, which presents itself as France's leading cruise provider.

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200803/20080319900474.html
美將索馬利亞一好戰組織列入恐怖組織名單
法新社╱鄭詩韻 2008-03-19 14:20     

 
 
（法新社華盛頓十八日電）美國國務院今天說，美國已將索馬利亞一個伊斯蘭好戰組織，新增到美國恐怖組織的名單中。

國務院在聲明中說：「Al-Shabaab是個暴力與殘酷的極端組織，許多成員隸屬蓋達組織。」　　聲明還說：「Al-Shabaab許多高階領導人，據信在阿富汗接受訓練，並作戰。」

聲明說，國務院在二月二十九日做出決定，封鎖任何對這個組織的財務支援，並凍結該組織在美國的資產。

美國說，Al-Shabaab「宣稱槍殺區域行政副官，且是索馬利亞首都摩加迪休數起針對衣索比亞軍隊及索馬利亞政府官員的爆炸案與槍擊案的幕後黑手」。

索馬利亞總理上週哈山提出一項與政敵及素有仇怨的幫派和解構想，試圖結束這個非洲之角的多年戰爭。

他也對Al-Shabaab伸出和解之手，邀請他們進行和平會談，並表示這個組織也是索馬利亞社會的一部分。

國務院在聲明中還說：「Al-Shabaab以恫嚇及暴力，傷害索馬利亞政府，並威脅致力透過政治對話與調停帶來和平的公民社會運動者。」