Conflicts: India frees ship hijacked by Somali pirates

Conflicts
India frees ship hijacked by Somali pirates

The Indian Navy says it hijacked and kidnapped a boat from Somali pirates almost three months ago Cargo ship stopped and the crew freed from the hands of their captors. The Indian Navy announced on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that 35 pirates surrendered and 17 crew members were rescued unharmed.

The ship “MV Ruen” was intercepted in the Arabian Sea around 2,600 kilometers from the Indian coast and forced to stop. A search was also carried out for illegal weapons, ammunition and contraband. The freighter had already been hijacked on December 23rd.

A warship pursued the pirates for 40 hours and finally stopped their captured freighter. It was said that the pirates first fired at the warship before surrendering after resistance from the Indian ship’s crew.

The coast off the crisis state of Somalia was once the scene of frequent pirate attacks. However, as part of the EU mission “Atalanta”, which has been running since 2008 to combat piracy there, the attacks have decreased significantly. However, according to the IMB Piracy Reporting Center, a hijacking occurred on December 14th when a freighter was hijacked and headed to Somalia. At the end of January, the Indian Navy said it freed the crews of two fishing boats from the hands of Somali pirates within 36 hours.

Somalia is located in the Horn of Africa opposite Yemen. The dangers in the region have increased sharply. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea to prevent them from passing through to Israel. The Red Sea is considered one of the most important shipping routes for world trade because it connects the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal in Egypt. The Indian Navy recently increased its presence in the region after the attacks.

dpa