Abducted ship not carrying weapons for Somali govt: official

MOGADISHU: Somali government security officials on Tuesday denied media reports that an abducted commercial ship off the coast of the war-torn country was carrying weapons for government forces.

Somali pirates this week hijacked a ship heading for the capital Mogadishu port and media reports said the ship was not carrying commercial civilian goods but weapons destined for the Somali government.

Abdulahi Hassan Barise, spokesman for Somali police force, said the reports were unfounded and baseless and accused what he described as "uninformed foreign elements" of propagating the information.

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"The ship which is still in the pirate's hands is not carrying weapons for the government but common commercial goods such as food items, clothing and cars for local traders," Barise told reporters in Mogadishu.

The traders who own the goods aboard the hijacked ship Al-Mizan, also denied the reports, adding that negotiations were in progress for the release of the ship and that no demand for ransom was made.

Somali pirates have recently intensified their activities along the India Ocean and extended their reach far into the high seas between Somalia and as far as off the Indian sub-continent, the longest distance so far.  

The pirate gangs are holding several ships with hundreds of  crew on board for whom they demand ransom for their release.