Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
October 6, 2008
Pg. 10
Somalia
Islamist insurgents have demanded some of the weapons aboard a hijacked Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks, but the pirates holding the ship have refused, an official in Mogadishu said Sunday.
Gunmen from the Islamist al-Shabaab group, which opposes Somalia's weak interim government, have also received a 5 percent cut of the $1.5 million paid for a Spanish ship released several months ago, a resident said.
About two weeks ago, heavily armed pirates captured the MV Faina near Hobyo in central Somalia and are demanding a $20 million ransom.
Several U.S. Navy ships are watching it to ensure that no weapons are unloaded.
Residents confirmed fears that ransom payments to pirates were being passed on and were fueling the insurgency against President Abdullahi Yusuf's government.
October 6, 2008
Pg. 10
Somalia
Islamist insurgents have demanded some of the weapons aboard a hijacked Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks, but the pirates holding the ship have refused, an official in Mogadishu said Sunday.
Gunmen from the Islamist al-Shabaab group, which opposes Somalia's weak interim government, have also received a 5 percent cut of the $1.5 million paid for a Spanish ship released several months ago, a resident said.
About two weeks ago, heavily armed pirates captured the MV Faina near Hobyo in central Somalia and are demanding a $20 million ransom.
Several U.S. Navy ships are watching it to ensure that no weapons are unloaded.
Residents confirmed fears that ransom payments to pirates were being passed on and were fueling the insurgency against President Abdullahi Yusuf's government.