Oppressed Peoples Online Word...The Voice Of The Voiceless
Dedicated to disseminating news & information not found in mainstream media....
MOGADISHU - Somali security forces have rescued a South African couple kidnapped by pirates in the Indian Ocean
Defense Minister Hussein Arab Isse says couple has been freed from ‘Al-Qaeda-affiliated’ insurgents.
and held for 18 months, Defense Minister Hussein Arab Isse said Thursday.
"The rescue started last night (Wednesday) and lasted until this morning and you can see that the pair were freed safely," Isse told a joint press conference with the couple, Debbie Calitz and Bruno Pelizzari.
Isse said the raid was a joint operation by security forces and the army and that the couple had been freed from "Al-Qaeda-affiliated" insurgents.
It was not immediately clear whether this meant that the pirates who captured the couple had sold them on to Somalia's Shebab rebels, a group linked to Al-Qaeda.
Sources said the operation took place in the lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia, close to Mogadishu.
Calitz and Pelizzari were sailing in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya in 2010 when their yacht was hijacked by 12 pirates who set course for Somalia and took the couple ashore at Baraawe.
South Africa welcomed the news of the couple's rescue.
"The South African government wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the transitional federal government of Somalia following the release on Wednesday... of the couple," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Pretoria said Italy was involved in the rescue operation and thanked it for its role.
"The couple is in good health and eager to be reunited with their loved ones," said the statement.
It did not give details on the rescue operation.
Asked if any ransom was paid, foreign ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said in a text message: "It is not the policy of government to pay ransom."
Calitz, aged around 50, and Pelizzari, in his early fifties, were working as crew on the yacht Choizil as it sailed from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania toward South Africa when the hijacking occurred on October 26, 2010.
The yacht's skipper, Peter Eldridge, refused to leave with the pirates and was eventually rescued by a vessel from EU NAVFOR, the European Union's anti-piracy mission, on November 7.
Calitz's brother Dale van der Merwe said in January 2011 he had been contacted by people claiming to be the pirates who demanded a ransom of 10 million dollars (7.9 million euros).
Friends and family members of Calitz and Pelizzari set up a website to raise money to free the pair.
After the couple had spent five months in captivity the ransom demand came down to $500,000, according to the site, but after "interference with negotiations" the pirates again raised the amount to $4 million.
The Somali defence minister made no mention of any ransom payment.
He told journalists that more such raids may be staged.
"We know the whereabouts of the rest of the hostages, including the French agent, and if the kidnappers fail to free them, we will forcefully rescue them," he said, referring to a French intelligence agent seized in Mogadishu in July 2009 and detained since.
T.E.A.M... TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE
Donate To Zakat U.S.A. Donations Tax Deductable
**************************************************************************************************************************************
Crisis In The Horn Of Africa Pictures 1432 AH
If you like this article please consider donating to : Oppressed Peoples Online Word
Mission Statement Of Oppressed Peoples Online Word
Oppresses Peoples Online Word On Facebook
O.P.O.W. Email: oppressedpeoplesonlineword@gmail.com
Recent Stories On Oppressed Peoples Online Word
World News Up-dated : Mosaic World News
OPOW Mission Statement....
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 25, 2024 at 8:40am
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 24, 2024 at 5:30pm — 3 Comments
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 24, 2024 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 24, 2024 at 3:30pm — 3 Comments
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 21, 2024 at 2:53am — 4 Comments
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 19, 2024 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 18, 2024 at 10:30pm — 1 Comment
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 18, 2024 at 4:00pm — 4 Comments
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 16, 2024 at 1:42am — 2 Comments
Posted by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on December 12, 2024 at 8:21pm — 3 Comments
Allah completed the religion through him and the proof is His saying, He, the Most High: «This day, I have completed your religion for you, perfected My blessings upon you, and am pleased…Continue
Started by karriem el-amin shabazz in Sample Title Sep 8, 2022.
Allah says: “Nay! I swear by this city. This city wherein you have been rendered violable, and I swear by the parent and his offspring” (90Al-Balad:1-3) To begin a conversation, in Arabic with Nay,…Continue
Started by karriem el-amin shabazz in Sample Title Jul 29, 2022.
After Tauhid the other question about which a dispute was raging between the Prophet (pbuh) and the disbelievers was the question of the Hereafter. Here, before giving the arguments, the Hereafter…Continue
Started by karriem el-amin shabazz in Sample Title Jun 18, 2022.
Allah says: “Tell them, (O Prophet): “Did you consider (what would be your end) if this Qur'an were indeed from Allah and yet you rejected it? And this, even though a witness from the Children of…Continue
Started by karriem el-amin shabazz in Sample Title Jun 1, 2022.
© 2024 Created by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص. Powered by
You need to be a member of Oppressed Peoples Online Word...The Voice Of The Voiceless to add comments!
Join Oppressed Peoples Online Word...The Voice Of The Voiceless