Garowe Online (Garowe)
4 July 2008
A couple from Germany who were kidnapped in the Gulf of Aden by Somali pirates last month are being treated well, but the husband has diabetes and is running low on medicines, a human rights defender who visited the hostages told Radio Garowe.
Yusuf Ahmed Jama, an official with a Puntland-based human rights agency, was allowed to visit the German family in a remote area of Sanaag region.
"I spoke and stayed with the hostages for two days," Mr. Jama told Radio Garowe, a community station based in the capital of Puntland.
He identified the husband as Mr. Jorgan Kantiner [phonetic] and his wife, Mrs. Sebina Merck [phonetic]. According to the aid worker, Mr. Kantiner "only has three days of [diabetic] medical supplies left."
Mr. Jama said that the wife "is in good health," but was roughed up during the initial kidnapping when she was reportedly "beaten lightly."
The family had a boat filled with supplies and were travelling around the world when the pirates kidnapped them near the coast of Aden, Yemen.
The hostages are fed well and have "their own cook," according to Mr. Jama.
"They [German couple] are taken around each day, but the place is like Tora Bora," he added, referring to a well-known mountainous region in Afghanistan.
He indicated that the hostages have been in contact with family members, the German Federal Police and the German embassy.
On the kidnappers, Mr. Jama said they are a group of "trained and well-armed men who are not easy to approach," adding that they allowed him a visit because of it was for a "humanitarian purpose."
On Thursday, traditional elders in Sanaag region called on the regional governments of Somaliland and Puntland to withdraw their security forces from the area.
Somaliland and Puntland troops have been stationed in the vicinity of the area where the German hostages have being held since June 23, with unconfirmed reports saying the soldiers shot at each other recently.
Sources in the port city of Bossaso said Puntland soldiers from Sanaag had returned there yesterday, but there was no report regarding a withdrawal of Somaliland forces.
Sanaag clan elders are holding talks with the kidnappers and have pledged to double efforts to release the hostages.
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