News BlogEast Africamaritime piracy

Somali pirates are vying for the ransom of a freed journalist. 3 dead

MIchael Moore
It was after the release of Michael Scott Moore (here in the photo during his detention) that the pirates would have killed each other

(B2) Sharing a ransom between Somali pirates allegedly went wrong on Thursday (September 25) in Galkayo (Mudug region). At least five people were killed in gunfire between two groups of pirates in the Barahley district, south of Galkayo, according to the site Garowe Online. 3 pirates were killed and 2 civilians as well. One of the "pillars" of piracy, Ali Dhuule, would be among the dead, according to the Somali site. The two groups were apparently arguing over the sharing of the ransom paid for the release of the German-American journalist (more than $1,6 million).

Michael Scott Moore was released on Tuesday (September 23) after 2 1/2 years in captivity. Possessing dual nationality (German and American), he had been captured land 21 January 2012 in Galkayo, while conducting research to write a book on piracy. Living in Berlin, he works for Der Spiegel and is the European correspondent for Miller-McCune Magazine. He is also the author of a book renowned in the surfing world "Sweetness and Blood: How Surfing Spread from Hawaii and California to the Rest of the World, with Some Unexpected".

Immediately after his release, he was taken on a small plane to Mogadishu where he received medical treatment before being evacuated to Kenya. He is in " good condition being the circumstances said a German intelligence personnel, according to Der Spiegel.

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

s2Member®