Somali pirates release kidnapped Yemeni fishermen

FILE - A maritime policeman on a tag-boat guards oil tanker Aris-13, which was released by pirates, as it sails to dock on the shores of the Gulf of Aden in the city of Bosasso, northern Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland, March 19, 2017.

AL-MUKALLA: Nine Yemeni fishermen kidnapped by Somali pirates have been freed and are sailing home, relatives told Arab News on Monday.

Late last month, Somali pirates abducted 43 fishermen off the Somali coastal district of Hafun and took them to shore. Thirty-four were released in Somalia but the pirates sailed back to sea with the remaining nine.

A relative of one of the captives said they had received phone calls from the fishermen notifying them of their release and that they were heading back to Yemen’s southern coastal city of Al-Mukalla.

“I can’t express how happy I am or how happy the abducted fishermen’s father and mother are.

“We demand a stop to piracy, and we urge Operation Prosperity Guardian (a US-led military initiative to respond to Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping) not to see any boat approaching them as an enemy and to differentiate between fishermen and Houthis,” the relative, who wished to remain anonymous, added.

They noted that Yemenis often fished Somali waters after obtaining permits from authorities there or picking up catches from Somali fishermen.

Hundreds of Yemeni fishermen have been caught by Eretria’s navy or kidnapped by Somali fishermen in recent years.

Fishing crews along Yemen’s Red Sea coast have told Arab News that the recent deployment of American-led maritime forces, coupled with Houthi attacks on ships, have made their work difficult and dangerous.

The Yemeni fishermen were released as the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency, which tracks incidents at sea, reported on Monday receiving an alert from the Red Sea about two small unidentified boats approaching a commercial ship 50 nautical miles southeast of Yemen’s port of Mocha.

And on Saturday, the agency said six vessels were spotted near to another ship in the same area.

Tensions in the Red Sea have risen since November when the Iran-backed Houthis seized a commercial ship and fired drones and ballistic missiles at vessels in the Red Sea.

The militia group has said it will not allow any Israel-bound ships to use the maritime trade route and that its actions were intended to pressure Israel to cease its bombardment of Gaza.

Meanwhile, the UN has asked Yemen’s internationally recognized government and local authorities in the southern province of Dhale to investigate the death on Friday of a Yemeni aid worker.

Peter Hawkins, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator, ad interim, for Yemen, on Sunday condemned the death of Akeed Qaed – a worker with the international aid organization The Adventist Development and Relief Agency – who was shot dead by gunmen on his way home from Friday prayer.

“Mr. Qaed’s death is indeed an unacceptable tragedy. I call on the authorities for a thorough and expeditious investigation into this tragic incident,” Hawkins said.