Blog: Sarkozy zaps the pirates

Black shadows emerging from the sea would have been the only warning of the fate that awaited seven pirates aboard their captured yacht off Somalia early yesterday morning.

Struggling awake, they found themselves staring at the barrels of assault weapons belonging to soldiers from the underwater combat unit of France’s elite special forces. One Somali made the error of reaching for his gun. He was shot.

His death was the only violence in a daring operation to release a retired French couple taken hostage aboard the 50ft Carré d’As (Four Aces) as they sailed her from Australia towards the Suez Canal on September 2. In doing so they had become the latest victims of the surge in piracy that has turned one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes into one of the most dangerous.

The frogmen from the Commando Hubert, modelled on Britain’s Special Boat Service, were sent into action by President Sarkozy from the Élysée Palace in Paris, 5,000 miles away. It was after midnight, southeast of Somalia, when the helicopter began ferrying commandos from le Courbet, a frigate that had been shadowing the Carré d’As for the past ten days. A maritime reconnaissance aircraft monitored the operation from over the horizon.

The men were dropped by parachute some distance from the stationary yacht and swam towards her with night-vision goggles and undetectable breathing systems, according to military sources. They clambered aboard silently with ropes and light grappling hooks, taking the pirates by surprise.

It took ten minutes from the start of the assault to secure the vessel and free Jean-Yves and Bernadette Delanne, the 60-year-old couple. The six surviving gunmen were taken to the frigate.

After supervising the operation, which involved 30 men, Mr Sarkozy savoured the success of France’s second special forces operation against Red Sea pirates this year. Six other Somalis were brought to France in April after the release of the 30 crew and passengers of a French cruise yacht. The men were arrested in a helicopter attack on their Jeep as they made a getaway with part of the ransom in Puntland, the lawless coastal region of Somalia.

“This operation is a warning to all those engaged in this criminal activity. France will not accept that crime pays,” Mr Sarkozy said at a triumphant news conference after the predawn rescue. The operation was proof that Paris would protect every citizen in trouble abroad, he said.

He went on to call for a new international effort to combat the heavily armed gangs, who have greatly increased their attacks in recent months, extending their range hundreds of miles into the Indian Ocean. “These are not isolated cases, but a fully fledged criminal industry. [It] endangers our fundamental rights, freedom of movement and international trade,” Mr Sarkozy said. “The world must not remain indifferent or passive. I call on other countries to take their responsibilities as France has done twice.” Somali gunmen have hijacked at least 54 ships this year, making the shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden the most dangerous in the world. Hours after the assault on the Carré d’As, pirates attacked a Hong Kong-registered chemical tanker in the gulf and took its crew of 22 hostage. Dozens of tuna-fishing vessels from France and Spain sought refuge in the Seychelles yesterday calling for more protection.

The French operation began on September 2, within minutes of Mr and Mrs Delannes reporting by radio that they were under attack 300 miles off Somalia. France’s big base at nearby Djibouti makes it one of the military powers in the area. The frigate Courbet steamed towards the yacht as aircraft kept it under surveillance.

Officers of the DGSE, the external intelligence service, equivalent to Britain’s MI6 but run by the Defence Ministry, were in charge of surveillance, military sources said. They made radio contact with the pirates and tried to dissuade them from taking the yacht to Eyl, the main lair of Somali pirates. The gunmen demanded a €1 million (£795,000) ransom and the release of the six pirates already in France, but no negotiations took place, French officials said.

Meanwhile, the 30-man squad from the Commando Hubert were flown to Djibouti from their French base. An assault was held up for three days by bad weather, Mr Sarkozy said. But on Monday, when it became clear that the pirates were taking the yacht to Eyl, he decided to order the attack.

“When we were certain that they were going there, the military option became necessary. Their liberation [from the land] would have been very difficult and they could have been held for months.” he said. “As soon as the conditions for an assault were right, I gave the order to attack.”

Mr Sarkozy thanked Germany and Malaysia for their help, but gave no details. The two countries are taking part in an international antiterrorist operation in the region, which began after the September 2001 attacks. The authorities in Puntland, which considers itself an autonomous state within Somalia, welcomed the French action. “The state of Puntland encourages such steps and calls on other governments whose nationals are being held to do the same thing,” an official said.

The pirates are to be flown from Djibouti to France to stand trial with the six taken in April. Mr Sarkozy said that he would consider sending them to Somalia only if there was a guarantee that they would serve sentences.

The successful operation was a boon to Mr Sarkozy as he struggles with gloom over the economic slow-down in France and attempts to regain favour with the public. He refused to answer questions on the global financial crisis, saying that he had been up all night conducting the military operating and was too tired.

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