WFP welcomes release of aid vessel hijacked
by Somali pirates
Nairobi, Kenya, 10/15 - The UN World Food
Programme (WFP) has welcomed the release of a food aid-laden
Kenya-registered ship "MV Miltzow," detained by Somali pirates for 32
hours.
The vessel and its 10-member crew - nine Kenyans and a Uganda - were
carrying WFP food aid to drought-stricken people in southern Somalia.
The ship, its crew and cargo were released at midnight Thursday,
following negotiations between the pirates and a representative of the
contractor and the District Commissioner of Brava, Abdullahi Halane
Dhuhulow.
The ship owners said all the crew members were safe.
Six unidentified gunmen had stormed the ship Wednesday and forced it to
leave the port of Merka, 100-km southwest of Mogadishu.
"We are very relieved that the crew are all unharmed and that the food
aid is intact," said Leo van der Velden, WFP Deputy Country Director to
Somalia. "Fortunately, this particular shipment is only slightly
delayed, but with two hijackings in three months we will have to
consider alternatives to secure the safety of both the people and food
involved in our operations."
In June, a WFP-chartered ship "MV Semlow," carrying 850 tons of rice for
Tsunami survivors in Puntland region, was seized by gunmen off the coast
of central Somalia and held for three months before it was released.
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