Pirates take aid ship

Bargal, Somalia

Heavily armed Somali pirates this week hijacked a U.N. ship carrying food aid and took its 12-member crew hostage. Authorities arrested four of the pirates when they came ashore to get supplies. But four others remained with the hostages on the ship, which was surrounded by Somali police speedboats. “Negotiations are under way to try and secure the release of the vessel,” said Peter Goossens, head of the U.N.’s World Food Program. Alternating droughts and floods, on top of near-constant warfare, have left nearly 1.5 million people in Somalia desperate for international aid.

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