Pirates personae non gratae in Eyl (Puntland): residents free hostages

(B2) Contrary to what is often heard, pirates are not always harmless inhabitants who one day turn into pirates, robins of the woods attacking the rich looters of the seas and then finding asylum within the population. On the contrary even. Some pirates really don't seem to be well received locally (probably also with their new-rich behavior). Evidenced by this story collected and told by IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the Humanitarian Aid Office
of ONU (read the article). A fishing vessel of Indians and Bengalis had thus been captured by pirates and brought back to the town of Eyl (in Puntland), no doubt with the intention not of demanding a ransom but of taking it as a boat- mother. However, he hit a sandbar and ran aground. The attempt to bring the boat back to the high seas met ... with opposition from the inhabitants. They blocked the boat and requested the intervention of the Puntland authorities. The pirates then freed their hostages. And the fishermen taken care of by the elders before being handed over to the authorities. « nobody wants them (pirates)” explained a resident. A sentence to think about, no doubt...