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Pirates free French ship and crew

    NAIROBI

    Pirates in Somalia’s autonomous state of Puntland have abandoned a French-registered ship on which they were holding 10 Lebanese, Pakistani and Syrian crew captive, AFP reported at the weekend. In a brief dispatch quoting local sources, it said the gunmen freed the crew and left the ‘Net Express’ on Saturday night after negotiations and threats of military action by Puntland authorities.

    The pirates boarded the ship from heavily armed speedboats last Monday, looted the cargo, and took the crew hostage. “The gunmen left the ship and escaped in speed boats. The crew were not harmed,” said the report.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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