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The April 9, 2009 incident off Somalia was a military operation conducted by France and Germany to retake the Tanit, a yacht which had been captured by Somali pirates on April 4, 2009. The pirates had attempted to extract a ransom by holding the yachts occupants hostage, but were utimately defeated when the French Navy assaulted them.
[edit] BackgroundThe Tanit, a privately-owned French yacht named after the Phoenician lunar goddess, with its 5 crew and passengers was sailing to Zanzibar when it was boarded by pirates on April 4. Among the hostages were a family of three including a 3 year old boy, and two friends of the family who joined them in Aden. The ship's owners, the Lemaçons, started from Vannes in July 2008 and sailed south to the coast of Spain. This was a family trip “to escape consumer society”. They planned to visit Kenya and Zanzibar. Even after meeting with a couple whose yacht, the Carré d'As IV, had been captured by pirates, and later rescued by French commandos,[2] they continued on their journey. The pirates headed the vessel for the coast but were overrun two days later by a French frigate. French forces attempted to negotiate with the pirates offering them money and offering to exchange the mother and child for a French soldier. The pirates declined this. Instead, they were overheard discussing using explosives to blow up the yacht. [2]
 [edit] Action50 commandos were sent from France to a French base at Djibouti on April 9, in readiness for the assault. Joined locally by 20 more commandos, they parachuted from a C-130 Hercules plane into the sea, to be picked up by three French warships that had been tracking the pirates, together with a German frigate equipped with hospital facilities.[2] The pirates refused to cooperate, stating that they could get better terms once they reached the coast. Seeing the pirates were uncooperative a sniper on-board one of the vessels managed to shoot down the sails and to damage the mast and the yacht. This the French believed would put them in a better negotiating position, but it created havoc on board, causing the pirates to refuse to accede to any of the French demands.[2]   Allegedly, after threats to execute the hostages were heard, the French naval forces decided the next day to board the boat and free the hostages. According to French media reports, a special forces unit attacked the hijacked vessel from different directions in two motor-powered rubber boats. The pirates opened fire and the special forces team fired back, killing two of the pirates and driving a third into the sea. French naval commandos in a RHIB then boarded the vessel and captured the remaining pirates.[1] During the operation one of the hostages, the skipper and owner of the yacht and father to the 3 year old boy on board, a French civilian, was killed.[3] It is unclear whether this hostage was murdered by the pirates or killed in the crossfire. [edit] AftermathAfter the fighting ended the four freed hostages were taken in one of the frigates, to Djibouti, and from there transported back to France.[4] Three pirates were taken to Rennes for questioning.[5] In total, 70 men of the French naval forces, including men of the French commando Hubert, French frigates Aconit, Floréal and Commandant Ducuing and German frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern participated in the operation.[6] [edit] External links[edit] References
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