Somalia: US snipers rescue captive captain

  1. Posted on Monday 13 April 2009 - 11:00
    Yohanes
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    Andualem Sisay, AfricaNews reporter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    U.S. Navy snipers on Sunday opened fire and killed three Somali pirates holding an American Captain Richard Phillips at gunpoint. He was in "imminent danger" of being killed before the operation authorized by President Barack Obama, Vice Adm. Bill Gortney of the US navy said.
    ship
    The unarmed container ship, the Maersk Alabama, was the first American vessel to be captured in a wave of pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa, one of the most notoriously lawless stretches of international waters.

    Phillips had been held by pirates, three of whom were killed in the Navy rescue operation, since Wednesday when they boarded his cargo ship. Gortney said the pirates were armed with AK-47s and small-caliber pistols and were pointing the rifles at the captain when the commander of the nearby USS Bainbridge gave the order to open fire, Reuters reported.

    Gortney, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said the White House had given "very clear guidance and authority" to take action if Phillips' life was in danger.

    Phillips' crew, who said they had escaped after he offered himself as a hostage, erupted in cheers aboard their ship docked in Mombasa, Kenya. Some waved an American flag and fired flares in celebration.

    Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was not hurt in several minutes of gunfire and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet said he was resting comfortably on a U.S. warship after receiving a medical examination.

    There have already been more than 60 attacks this year off the Somali coast, with more than 16 ships still in pirates’ hands as ransom negotiations continue.

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