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Paris, October 10, 2009 – Somali pirates attempted to
storm the flagship commanding French military forces in a night attack
in the Indian Ocean after mistaking it for a cargo vessel, the military
said here on Wednesday.
French sailors saw off the attack and captured five pirates in the
incident while no-one was injured, military spokesman Admiral Christophe
Prazuck said.
"The pirates, who because of the darkness took the French ship for a
commercial vessel, were on board two vessels and opened fire with
Kalashnikovs," he said.
The pirates had tried to storm the 160-metre (525-foot) 18,000-tonne La
Somme, a fuel supply ship used as the command centre for all French
forces -- ground, sea and air -- in the Indian Ocean region.
The pirates tried to escape when they realized their mistake but were
pursued by La Somme, which after an hour-long chase managed to catch one
of the skiffs, Prazuck said.
On it they found five men but no weapons, the spokesman said, adding
that the pirates had apparently thrown all of the boat's contents
overboard.
The world's naval powers have deployed dozens of warships to the lawless
waters off Somalia over the past year to curb attacks by pirates
threatening one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes.
Source: AFP, Oct 07, 2009
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