Somali pirates seize 2nd UN food aid ship

NAIROBI – Somali pirates have hijacked a second ship carrying United Nations food aid in the latest act of piracy to strike vessels plying the anarchic country’s treacherous seas, the world body said yesterday.

Six gunmen stormed the MV Miltzow freighter on Wednesday as its cargo of 850 tonnes of food aid was being offloaded in the port of Merka, 100 km south-west of the capital Mogadishu, the UN World Food Programme said. Aboard were the crew of 10, including a Kenyan captain, Ugandan engineer and eight other Kenyans, WFP added.The hijacking came 10 days after pirates released another ship laden with WFP food aid, the M.V.Semlow, which they seized at sea and held for nearly 100 days.”It is scandalous that a small number of profiteers would once again hijack humanitarian food supplies destined for fellow Somalis,” Robert Hauser, WFP’s country director for Somalia, said in a statement.The cargo was headed for approximately 78 000 people in the Jilib district, just north of Merka, which has suffered ongoing violence, flooding and a total crop failure in recent months.The Indian Ocean waters off Somalia are among the most dangerous in the world.The Horn of Africa nation has had no proper government since 1991 and no-one patrols its coastline.Pirates in armed speedboats typically race alongside slower-moving ships, firing on them, before boarding and seizing control at gunpoint.- Nampa-ReutersAboard were the crew of 10, including a Kenyan captain, Ugandan engineer and eight other Kenyans, WFP added.The hijacking came 10 days after pirates released another ship laden with WFP food aid, the M.V.Semlow, which they seized at sea and held for nearly 100 days.”It is scandalous that a small number of profiteers would once again hijack humanitarian food supplies destined for fellow Somalis,” Robert Hauser, WFP’s country director for Somalia, said in a statement.The cargo was headed for approximately 78 000 people in the Jilib district, just north of Merka, which has suffered ongoing violence, flooding and a total crop failure in recent months.The Indian Ocean waters off Somalia are among the most dangerous in the world.The Horn of Africa nation has had no proper government since 1991 and no-one patrols its coastline.Pirates in armed speedboats typically race alongside slower-moving ships, firing on them, before boarding and seizing control at gunpoint.- Nampa-Reuters