Armed men in the harbour of Kismayo have
been holding 48 fishermen and their three fishing vessels since
15 August and have demanded $500,000 for each of the boats and their
crew, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.Taiwan had asked for
international help in contacting the kidnappers, and talked to them last
week in an effort to negotiate a lower ransom.
The Liberty Times newspaper quoted unidentified negotiators as saying
Somali soldiers had been deployed near Kismayo to prepare for an attack
on the captors. UN troops are to be sent in as backup, the report said.
But the hostage-takers, reported to be anti-government rebels, were
moving rockets, machine guns and other weapons on board the fishing
vessels to prepare for an attack, it said. More than 20 armed men were
standing guard over the hostages, it said.
Negotiating
"The situation has been grim as the rebels were planning to use the crew
as human shields," the newspaper reported. Taiwan Foreign Ministry
spokesman Michel Lu declined to comment on the report, but said some
progress had been made in negotiating with the rebels.
The Somali rebels threatened on Friday to start killing one hostage a
day if the ransom was not paid within 48 hours, but so far the crew
members have not been harmed, the ministry said.
The hostages include three Taiwanese captains and 45 crew members
from Indonesia, China, the Philippines and Vietnam. Meanwhile, a
Taiwanese fishermen's representative urged rival China to help negotiate
the hostages' release, noting that there were 14 Chinese fishermen on
the boats seized.
China's influence
The Taiwanese boat owners pay an annual fee for fishing rights in the
area, and China could help because it has diplomatic ties with Somalia,
said Chang Hsing-wu, head of the Fishermen Association in southern
Kaohsiung city.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, and China claims
Taiwan as part of the Chinese territory.
Piracy along the Somalian coast is common. Several ships a month are
attacked or hijacked, with valuables stolen and crews held for ransom. A
ship carrying international food aid has been held by rebels since late
June.
Source:Aljazeera.net.
