FOCUS NEWS AGENCY
Saturday, July 05, 2008

 

Berlin Two Germans kidnapped from a yacht last month by pirates off Somalia's northern Puntland region have been in contact with their families, the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel said in a report Sunday AFP reports.

The pirates allowed the couple, identified only as Jurgen K., 63, and Sabine M., 51, to telephone relatives on Friday. They told family members they were well given the circumstances, the report said.
The German ministry of foreign affairs had also sent a package of medication via intermediaries for the man who is a diabetic.

The pirates have demanded millions of euros in ransom money for the pair, who were seized on June 23, Der Spiegel said, adding that a crisis cell in Berlin had negotiated with them through a tribal leader.
Somalia's waters are among the most pirate-infested in the world and all countries have issued warnings against sailing too close to its shores.

Last month, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution allowing foreign states to dispatch their military to combat piracy.