According to pirates in Harardhere
After the EU NAVFOR’s first strike to Somali pirates land base in Harardhere district of Mudug region in which were destroyed speedboats and step ladders , Somali pirates threatened to kill the hostages if they are attacked again, according to pirates in Harardhere who spoke Somalia Report on Wednesday evening.
Ali Mumin, a pirate from the Ilays group which released the Italian-flagged MV Savina Caylyn for $11.5M last year, explained the ultimatum.
“Yes, they attacked us last night and destroyed two speedboats, and three step-ladders, but there weren’t any casualties. We will not allow them to attack us again. Next time our response will be to kill the hostages we hold. We have a lot of hostages so if they want them to live, they will stop these airstrikes,” he told Somalia Report.
Omar, a pirate in Harardhere who refused to give the name of the group to which he is aligned, also vowed retaliation.
“Our threat is for the Europeans. We have Greek and other European hostages. If they think we are weak, they better think again. We have hostages to use for revenge. We promise if they attack again, we will not hesitate to kill hostages. It is easy for us to do. I am telling you that you still have time to think,” Omar told Somalia Report with anger in his tone.
Ahmed Jimale, an elder in Harardhere told Somalia Report that pirates are regrouping and they are change their bases near the beach and that residents are fearful that an air strike could target civilians because pirates are inside the civilians areas.
Abdirahman Hassan, a resident in Harardhere who spoke Somalia Report, said, “This incident won’t affect them economically even though they lost three boats, but it will decrease their activity on land.”
The EU mission has been operational since late 2008 and in March of this year decided that they would disrupt the launching of pirate attacks up to 2km inland. The decision was presented as a collaboration between the TFG and Operation Atalanta forces to authorize attacks in coastal areas and internal waters.
Pirates typically do not kill their hostages as they are worth more alive than dead, but have shown extreme and increasing brutality against the captives, including amputation, especially as the months and years go by without negotiations.
Somali pirates are currently holding over 320 hostages and 21 ships (10 commercial and 11 fishing/dhows).
Source: Somalia Report
