Posted on 04/11/2008 12:28:17 PM PDT by Eurotwit
PARIS (Reuters) - French commandos seized six pirates in Somalia on Friday during a daring helicopter raid launched shortly after the bandits had released the 30-strong crew of a luxury yacht hijacked last week.
French officials said the owners of the yacht paid a ransom to obtain the freedom of the crew and as soon as it was clear that they were all safe, the commandos went into action aboard helicopters to track down the pirates.
A district commissioner in Somalia told Reuters that five local people had died in the attack, but the French military denied killing anyone in their daylight raid.
"It was an intervention not a pulverization," General Jean-Louis Georgelin, head of the armed forces general staff told a news conference in Paris.
Georgelin said the French military tracked the pirates, believed to be Somali fishermen, after they made landfall and moved in when they saw some of the gang getting away in a car.
A sniper in one helicopter shot out the car engine while another helicopter dropped off three French soldiers who captured the six pirates and hauled them off to French navy helicopter carrier waiting off the Somali coast.
"It is the first time an act of piracy in this area has been resolved so quickly ... and it is also the first time that some of the pirates have been apprehended," Admiral Edouard Guillard told the news conference.
Georgelin said no public money was paid to free the hostages but he indicated that the ships owner had paid a ransom, part of which was found with the escaping pirates.
"When we captured the pirates we also recovered some interesting bags," he said.
French media reported that $2 million was paid by the owners, but family members who met President Nicolas Sarkozy said they were simply relieved that the hostages were free.
"We don't know how much they paid and really, we don't want to know," Karim Meghoufel, whose brother-in-law was the yacht's chief pastry chef, told reporters at the Elysee Palace.
PARACHUTE MISSION
Around 12 pirates grabbed the three-masted yacht, the Ponant, last Friday, about 850 km out to sea in the Gulf of Aden. They then sailed the boat to the Somali coast, eventually mooring at Garaad, near the town of Eyl.
The French navy sent 2 boats to the area, with 4 or 5 helicopters on board and around 50 commandos. A French admiral was also parachuted into the sea and picked up by the task force to help lead the operation.
The Foreign Ministry said the crew, 22 of whom are French, would be repatriated as soon as possible. Most of the other crew members came from Ukraine and the Philippines.
General Georgelin said President Nicolas Sarkozy made clear he wanted all the hostages released without harm, but added that the military would "probably" have intervened if the pirates had tried to split up the group or taken them off the boat.
French officials said the pirates would be tried in France. They said Paris would also seek much tougher United Nations action against maritime piracy.
Piracy is lucrative off lawless Somalia and most kidnappers treat their captives well in anticipation of a good ransom.
France said it would present new anti-piracy measures to fellow members of the United Nations Security Council next week aimed at toughening the war against sea banditry.
"This phenomenon is increasing, with the pirates becoming ever better equipped and organized," said Jean-David Levitte, Sarkozy's chief diplomatic advisor.
"We are confronted by a real, real threat," he said, adding that over the last 10 years 3,200 sailors had been kidnapped by pirates, 500 injured and 160 killed.
(Additional reporting by Abdiqani Hassan in Somalia and Emmanuel Jarry in Paris, editing by Giles Elgood)
Pity, I prefer pulverizations.
Cheers.
Yeah - right...
For all the keyboard warriors who make fun of the french, I bet none of them would want to go face to face with any of the group that carried out this mission. Good post.
What?
No HellFiRe?
damn, just damn.
“A French admiral was also parachuted into the sea and picked up by the task force to help lead the operation.”
Well then. Who in the hell was on that yacht that it required parachuting an Admiral no less into the sea so he could oversee the rescue operation ?
Quite a bold move for the French, no less. Whaddya know, a conservative president gets elected and Frech start showing spine. This calls for a nice bottle of Bordeaux.
Yea I wondered about that myself. Waaaay to hunt for red octoberish/hollywood. Don’t they have helipads on the back of them cruisers or something ? :)
Wow, those pirates are really swell, treating their prisoners so nice and all.
Wait a minute . . .
3,200 sailors had been kidnapped by pirates, 500 injured and 160 killed.
Oh, so they treat them well - by wounding or murdering more than one out of every five captives.
Thanks, Reuters!
Well, ya gotta admit that paying them a ransom and then killing 5 of them was sort of a nice touch.
SOCOM Ping!
Good work, guys.
I really didn’t think France has it in them any more.
Thanks for proving me wrong.
‘to the shores of Tripoli’ — some things never change.
Hooray for Sarkozy. Go Frenchies!!
It's the whole of Western Civ that sucks not just the French.
Yea the other 4 our 5 are served tea, milk and cookies, to be paid for out the pirates share of the ransom...
I prefer pulverizations
The Sarkozy French.
I even bought some Michelein tires after Sarkozy was elected.
A district commissioner in Somalia told Reuters that five local people had died in the attack, but the French military denied killing anyone in their daylight raid.
Single shot through the engine block.
We heap imprecations on the French as a matter of course but I believe them to be quite blood-thirsty and ruthless when it impacts something they consider to be touching on their honor and own self-interest. Normally, their moralism is out front and on display but carefully tucked away for safekeeping when throats need to be cut. If we were ever really intending to murder somebody for political reasons I believe we could get a Frenchman to hold our coat.
They seem to be able intervene in Africa whenever they want without a peep from anybody. Nobody considers their forays on the continent to be imperialist gestures therefore they have a freedom of action that would be quite useful if we had it.
According to Norwegian media. 3 were killed and 8 wounded. The pirates apparently had their hands on AAA which was used against the choppers.
Cheers.
Tough guy. I never parachuted into the sea but I jumped out of helos into it a few times. Swells almost drowned me.
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