France/Somalia

French hostages freed by commando force off Somalia

Article published on the 2008-09-16 Latest update 2008-09-16 10:13 TU

The luxury yacht "Ponant" seized off the Somali coast in April this year.
(Photo: Reuters)

A French commando team freed two French nationals late on Monday. The pair had been seized by pirates in Somali waters earlier this month. French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for international cooperation to improve security in waters off Somalia.

Two French nationals who were taken hostage by Somali pirates on 2 September have been freed in an operation carried out by a French commando unit.

Jean-Yves Delanne and his wife Bernadette, were sailing the boat from Australia to La Rochelle on France's Atlantic coast where it was due to be sold. They were stopped in the Gulf of Aden by pirates who demanded the payment of a ransom and the release of Somali pirates whom had been captured in a French operation in April.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the news telling the press in Paris on Tuesday morning that one pirate had been killed and six others taken prisoner.

He has called for an international security force to ensure improved naval safely in Somali waters, and said that France will not allow crime to pay.

Sarkozy also said that the captured pirates would be brought to France, and only extradited if they are certain of being sentenced in Somalia.

Six pirates taken prisoner by French forces in Somali waters in April are still being held in France.

Somali waters are considered the most dangerous in the world according to the anti-piracy department of the International Maritime Bureau, a United Nations agency.

The number of cases of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast has exploded since the beginning of 2008.

An attack also took place last Saturday on a French tuna-fishing boat, but the vessel escaped its attackers.