Somali Pirates Threatened by Islamists? And on the Run?

VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has an absolutely fascinating exclusive story from Nairobi after speaking by satellite telephone to the pirate leader aboard the hijacked Saudi supertanker. The pirate leader, who refuses to be identified, insists the vessel is still anchored off the coast of El Gaan near the central Somali town of Haradhere.

The pirate said his group has not taken the tanker from the area and they are not concerned about being attacked by the al-Shabab or by any other Islamist group. He declined to confirm reports that his group may reduce the $25 million dollar ransom demand for the release of the tanker and its 25-member crew.

A resident in Haradhere, who wished to remain anonymous because of security concerns, told VOA the pirates took the ship and headed out to sea two days ago. That ship is very far from town now, the resident said. He added the pirates fled because they feared Islamist militias were preparing to mount an assault to free the ship.

On 15 November, pirates brazenly attacked the Saudi-owned Sirius Star, a 330-meter supertanker transporting two million barrels of crude to North America. The pirates captured the ship nearly 800 kilometers off shore as it sailed toward the Cape of Good Hope.

Somali Islamist groups waging an insurgency against the country's transitional federal government and its Ethiopian backers called the hijacking a crime against Islam and have demanded the immediate release of the tanker.

The condemnation is a show of unity from an Islamist movement that has split and is now largely divided between the Islamic Courts Union, which was ousted from power by Ethiopia with U.S. support in early 2006, and the far more radical Shabab group, once the military wing of the courts. It is listed as an al-Qaida-linked terror group by the United States.

There are unconfirmed reports that dozens of Islamic courts militiamen, who control Haradhere, stormed the port last Friday to hunt for the pirates.
In recent months, Islamists have re-captured most of southern and central Somalia and are closing in on the Somali capital Mogadishu. There were hardly any acts of piracy during the six months the Islamic Courts Union was in power in 2006. Under Islamic law, piracy is punishable by death.