What Somali news outlets are saying about MV Abdullah's hijackers' escape
Somali pirates yesterday released hijacked Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah and the 23 crew members after receiving ransom of $5 million, according to Reuters and several Somali news portals.
Officials of the ship's owning firm KSRM, however, refused to disclose any information on ransom payment.
KSRM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Meherul Karim informed that around 65 pirates got off the ship after the negotiation deal and they fled on several speedboats, our Chattogram staff correspondent reports.
The pirates released the hijacked Bangladeshi ship a few minutes after Saturday midnight (Somalian time) following payment of ransom, and fled to shore on several speedboats.
Based on a report by Garowe Online, an independent bilingual Somalian news website, different Bangladeshi news portals have published reports about the arrest of eight members of the pirate group that hijacked the Bangladesh-flagged vessel by Puntland Police force on the East Coast of Puntland moments after the ship was released.
Garowe Online published this report yesterday morning based on information from a high-ranking officer from the force. The news was not found in any other Somali news outlet.
In the same report Garowe Online, however, stated, "…. but it is not clear if the pirates were arrested after receiving the ransom."
The report also stated that it has not been confirmed whether the ransom money paid to the pirates was recovered during the operation.
Meanwhile, Puntland Mirror, a news website based in Puntland's capital, Garowe, posted on its X (formerly twitter) page yesterday evening that Puntland Maritime Police Forces arrested local fishermen but failed to apprehend armed pirates who received a $5 million ransom after releasing the MV Abdullah vessel.
In the same post that Puntland Mirror broke the news about pirates releasing the vessel after receiving the ransom amount stated, it also said that the pirates had escaped.
The Somali Digest in an analysis report on the same incident published last night said that the pirates fled in three groups.
"Following the ransom payment, the pirates dispersed to three areas: Bandar Beyla in Bari region, near Godobjiran in Nugal region, and near Garacad in Mudug region -- indicating the pirates' origins from these locales."
Attempts by security forces to intervene were met with resistance from clan militias supporting the pirates, the post added.
Puntland Post, a bilingual newspaper in a report earlier said, the pirates landed on the shores of Eyl/Gdobjiraan and Jaribaan districts in Nugal and Mudug regions after receiving ransom.
"It is the first time that Somali pirates have received a ransom since 2012," it added.