Bartamaha (Somalia):- Two Sri Lankan fishermen have been killed by Somali pirates, following the seizure of their fishing vessel last Thursday.
Kenya-based Ecoterra International, which monitors shipping off the Horn of Africa, said the vessel, theFV DARSHANA 06, was attacked in the Indian Ocean, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Ecoterra fears that the vessel may be used as a mother ship to launch pirate attacks on large merchant vessels.
Another Sri Lankan fishing vessel has been freed after its seizure on November 30, 2010. It is now anchored near the Indian Island of Minikoi.
The sea marauders continue to prey on merchant ships transiting the Gulf of Aden despite the presence of multinational warships patrolling the waters under a United Nations mandate to deter possible pirate attacks.
According to Ecoterra, over forty foreign vessels and nearly 760 crew members are being held against their will by pirates.
In November, a UN report said that the number of successful hijackings by Somali pirates climbed in 2010, became more violent, and expanded in terms of the zone of the attacks.
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Source:-Press TV
