Güncelleme Tarihi:
The gunmen were in a lifeboat out of fuel and drifting towards land,
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The U.S.-flagged Maersk
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Relatives said merchant marine Captain Richard Phillips, 53, volunteered to go with the pirates in a Maersk Alabama lifeboat in exchange for the safety of his ship and its crew.
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The four Somali pirates holding him want $2 million ransom and a guarantee of safe passage.
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The incident has sharpened international attention on the growing problem of piracy in the busy sea lanes of the Gulf of Aden and the
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Phillips is just one of about 270 hostages from around the world being held by pirates, who have targeted vessels from oil tankers to luxury yachts.
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Three
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Military officials said the pirates fired on a
Helicopters also flew over a coastal area used by pirates as a base on Sunday.
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Residents said they could see white soldiers on one of two helicopters which flew over for around half an hour in the area of Haradheere port on
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They said they believed the helicopters came from nearby
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Resident Ahmed Haji Abdi said people were afraid of being bombed.
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"We thought there would be air raids this morning. Haradheere is full of pirates," he said. "They might be Americans. They have left now."
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It was unclear if the helicopters were sent to intimidate the pirates on land or as some step in a mediation process.
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Pirates have various bases around Haradheere, and are holding some hijacked vessels in the area.
Bad memories
The Maersk Alabama, which was carrying thousands of tons of food aid for
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"The captain is a hero," one crew member shouted from the 17,000-ton ship as it docked. "He saved our lives by giving himself up."
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The standoff has forced U.S. President Barack Obama to focus on a place most Americans would rather forget. A
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John Reinhart, president of Maersk Line Ltd, said the FBI was investigating the hijacking in
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"Because of the pirate attack, the FBI has informed us that this ship is a crime scene," he told reporters.
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Somali elders sent a mediator on Saturday in the hope of resolving the situation.
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"They are just looking to arrange safe passage for the pirates, no ransom," said Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of a regional group that monitors piracy.
The mediator took to sea in a boat but it was unclear how he planned to reach the pirates.
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On Saturday, pirates captured an Italian-flagged tugboat towing two barges with 16 crew including 10 Italians in the
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The foreign minister of
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"We can certainly resolve (piracy) in partnership with the international community. Our first priority is to re-establish the rule of law. For that, we have requested from the foreign community assistance to build our security forces," Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar told Reuters.
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