Attempt to Rescue Danish Family Repelled by Pirates

According to the Associated Press an attempt on Thursday to free the Danish family held by a pirate gang failed. Actions were taken by the armed forces of the semiautonomous Puntland region. No members of the Danish family are reported to have been hurt.

Associated Press (AP) have learned from both a member of the pirate gang and a Puntland official that the rescue attempt failed when the security forces were ambushed by the pirate gang. The soldiers had made an attempt to surround the village of Hul Anod, where it is believed that the seven Danes are being held, but were unable to take up position and were eventualy beaten back.

One senior Puntland official stated that five members of the security forces had been killed and that several vehicles were destroyed.

Update:

According to Ekstra Bladet newspaper’s local sources the seven hostages were not harmed. It appears that they were taken from their hideout back to their yacht, where, according to the newspaper’s sources, they are being guarded by at least 15 armed pirates.

It is also reported that the pirate gang were informed in advance of the attempted mission and were thus able to draft in additional support to strengthen their hold on the area.

Maritime Security Review has learned that the Danish Foreign Ministry was not informed of the planned military action ahead of time. The Ministry has declined to comment on the situation out of concern for the relatives of the hostages.

-——-

Mark Lowe, Friday 11 March 2011