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French yacht hijacking drama ends

Apr 11 2008

French yacht hijacking drama ends

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Arab World

By Agencies

A French frigate, Le Commandant Bouan, was sent to trail the yacht captured by pirates [AFP]
The French president has announced that 30 hostages held on a tourist yacht by pirates off the coast of Somalia have been released.

A statement from Nicolas Sarkozy's office said on Friday that he had thanked the French army and other French agencies "that allowed a quick end" to the hostage taking.

The hostages including 22 French crew aboard Le Ponant were freed "without incident", Sarkozy said without providing details.

A French military source said the hostages were freed after negotiations and that there was no army operation to win their release.

The 32-cabin vessel, which was hijacked on April 4, was anchored off Puntland, a breakaway northern region of Somalia.

A French naval warship maintained close surveillance with troops from the French gendarmerie's elite counter-terrorism and hostage rescue unit stationed in nearby Djibouti.

French nationals

"The president of the republic announces the release of the 30 hostages, including 22 French nationals, of the Le Ponant sailboat, off the Somali coast," said the Elysee Palace statement.

Details of the release operation will be made public after a meeting between Sarkozy and the hostages' families on Friday afternoon.

Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, welcomed the release and said preparations were under way to return the freed hostages to France as soon as possible.

He urged the international community to take action to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast and said talks were under way at the UN on the issue.