Somalian Pirates

Danish family is taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean

Somali is now becoming known for it’s blood-thirsty pirates. On February 24th, three Danish children and their parents were taken hostage by Somali pirates while they were sailing in the Indian Ocean. The children were said to be from the ages of 12 and 16, and that two crew members were also taken hostage. As of last week, the EU’s anti-piracy naval force said that pirates are estimated to be holding 31 vessels and 688 hostages. Many of the vessels they target are cargo ships sailing near the Gulf of Aden.

The ship with the Danish family on it sent out a distress signal on Thursday. The Danes are the second non-commercial sailors taken by pirates in recent weeks. For an example, a group of Americans were seized earlier in February and four were shot when the US forces tried to rescue them. The pirates seem to be responding with increasing violence as navy forces try to rescue the hostages. Two Philippine sailors were murdered last month because the pirates were enraged at the attempted rescue.

This is becoming a serious issue. Somali gangs have recently hijacked a tanker with $200m worth of crude oil on board. To try to control the issue, international naval forces patrolling the area will try to free more hostages.

Original Story- BBC News
Re-Written By- Emily L.