Syria Today | Syria urges Somalia to mediate release of nine kidnapped sailors

Syria urges Somalia to mediate release of nine kidnapped sailors

Syria has asked the Somali government to mediate the release of nine Syrian sailors held hostage by Somali pirates for the past three months.

President of the Syrian Chamber of Shipping Abdul Kader Sabra told Syria Today that Prime Minister Muhammad Naji Otri had asked his Somali counterpart Omar Abdel Rashid Ali Sharmarke to “work on releasing the nine Syrians by any and all means”.

Syria’s request for assistance came during a visit to Libya by Otri in late February to attend a meeting of the Syrian-Libyan Higher Committee. Sharmarke also happened to be in the country at the same time.

The Syrian sailors were kidnapped by a gang of 30 pirates from a North Korean ship sailing from Romania in early February. The AFP news agency reported that the pirates have threatened to kill the Syrian crew unless a ransom of SYP 138m (USD 3m) is paid. Syria refuses to negotiate directly with the pirates.

“Syria cannot negotiate with illegitimate sides,” Sabra said. “We have asked the Somali government to negotiate with them.”

According to Sabra, a number of the sailors have been allowed to call their families.

“They told them that they are living in very bad conditions,” he said.