UPDATED: Puntland Forces Safely Rescue 22 Hostages of MV Iceberg 1
Puntland Government Press Release 23 December 2012
Original Source: Laasqoray Net
Puntland government forces conducting a humanitarian rescue operation have safely rescued 22 hostages on board the MV Iceberg 1 vessel.
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MV Iceberg 1 (in Garad) rescued By Puntland Forces Photo; Garowe Online
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Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) units laid siege to the MV Iceberg 1 vessel beginning on Dec 10 near Gara’ad coastal village of Mudug region and the operation concluded successfully today when all 22 hostages were released, after a two-week period of fighting pirates and laying siege to the vessel.
After 2 years and 9 months in captivity, the hostages have suffered signs of physical torture and illness. The hostages are now receiving nutrition and medical care. The 22 crew includes eight Yemenis, five Indians, two Pakistanis, four Ghanaians, two Sudanese, and a Filipino.
(Update) An Indian and a Pakistani sailor were said to have been released one day before the remaining 20 were set free on Dec 23. Both men had suffered minor gunshot wounds in the legs and waist and were being treated along with their shipmates for starvation and malnutrition at a military base in Ely town. Three pirates were killed, three were captured and nine fled the ship, which remained grounded off the coast of northern Somalia near the village of Gara’ad in Puntland’s Mudug region. A Yemeni crew member already had died in October 2010. The ship ran aground on Sep 3, 2011. They pirates ordered the crewt to work the pump and use buckets to remove the water.
Separately, a group of 8 Puntland soldiers responsible for briefly hijacking a government-impounded, North Korea-flagged vessel MV Daesan and its 33 member crew have been jailed by the Puntland military court on Dec 22.
The soldiers were guarding the MV Daesan when they hijacked the vessel from the Port of Bossaso on Dec. 18. Puntland Government managed to return the vessel back to the port within 24 hours; the soldiers were arrested and will be brought to justice.
The brief hijacking of the MV Daesan was a political and security conspiracy architected by politically motivated elements and pirates intending to divert attention from the PMPF operation to rescue the MV Iceberg 1 hostages.
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