Another ship hijacked

2005-10-13 13:54

Nairobi - Somali gunmen seized a second ship, this time carrying food aid from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), off the Somali coast in less than a week, Kenyan newspapers reported on Thursday.

Less than half of the 850 tons of food aid cargo had been offloaded at Merka port, southwest of Mogadishu, when unidentified gunmen stormed the MV Miltzow and ordered it to leave the port, according to the Daily Nation.

The food aid cargo of beans, maize and vegetable oil was destined to some 78 000 people in Jilib district, an area affected by the recent failure of seasonal rains and harvests.

It was not immediately clear where the ship was headed to, nor the identity of the gunmen.

Last week another vessel, the MV Togelow, was hijacked while heading to Somalia from the Kenyan port of Mombasa carrying supplies to the released crew of the MV Semlow.

The Semlow was in captivity for three months with food aid cargo donated by Germany and Japan intended for Somalia's tsunami victims. The 850 tons of donated rice and its 10-member crew are still on board the vessel currently anchored at El Maan port. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA