BOSASSO (Somalilandpress) — A pirate spokesman, who wished to remain
anonymous, contacted Somalilandpress today said at least ten of his men
were executed by the Russian navy after the troopers stormed MV Moscow
University.


“The Russians commandos stormed the ship before sunrise, starting a
firefight with our men, onboard they injured three of them and one was
killed,” he said.


He dismissed the Russian navy statement that the men were released
because of “the absence of a legal base to carry out prosecution
procedures against pirates”.


“The Russians never released the young men instead they shot them
point-blank range then loaded their lifeless bodies back on the boat,”
he added.


The spokesman condemned the action of the Russian navy “our men never
hurt their hostages, we simply want foreign ships to stop overfishing in
our waters, if they are not happy to respect our-fishermen and their
livelihood, we have no choice but to take hostage to compensate for the
losses,” he cited.


“We condemn the action of the Russians, it’s driven by racism and hate
for black people and Africa, it’s the face of the new Russia. In future,
if we capture Russians they will meet the same fate as those they
executed,” he added.


Meanwhile, many Somalis were angered by Somalia’s ambassador to Moscow,
Mohamed Handule’s statement, who backed the Russian navy denying that
the Russian destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov has not acted
inappropriately. They requested an investigation and the immediate
replacement of Mr. Handule.


“Not one Somali or the government of our country sees Russia has being guilty in this,” Mr. Handule told ITAR-TASS news agency.


On the 6th May, eleven Somali pirates hijacked the Liberian-flagged
Russian oil tanker, MV Moscow University, carrying 86,000 tonnes of
crude oil worth $US52 million in the Gulf of Aden. The anti-submarine
destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov was notified and dispatched a helicopter
which disrupted the pirates while commandos on speed boats stormed the
tanker. The Russians have killed all eleven pirates and have destroyed
their boats according to the pirate spokesman.


There are reports, Somali pirates still hold 23 foreign ships and 384
sailors in Somalia. Meanwhile, a conference co-sponsored by the United
Nation and the Turkish government designed to address the piracy,
stability and Somalia’s security will be hosted in Istanbul from
21st-23rd of May.