Pirates who kidnapped two French tourists a week ago are holding them in northern Somalia and are demanding a $1.4 million ransom and the release of six members of their gang, a maritime group said on Wednesday. The East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme named the couple as Jean-Yves Delanne and his wife Bernardette, and said their luxury yacht was now being used by the pirates to hunt more victims in waters off the lawless Horn of Africa nation. “Reports directly from Somalia indicate that the hostages were dropped at the Somali coast near Alula ... from where part of the gang have dragged them to a remote hideout in the Xaabo mountains,” the Kenya-based maritime group said. It said the kidnappers were demanding a ransom “in excess” of $1.4 million to free the two hostages. It said they also wanted the release of six fellow pirates seized in the area in April during a helicopter raid by French commandos after another French yacht was hijacked. “Naval operations or military interventions most likely will risk the lives of the hostages,” the group warned. Heavily-armed Somali gunmen have seized more than 30 vessels so far this year, making the busy shipping lanes through the Gulf of Aden the most dangerous in the world. They are holding 10 ships for ransom and about 130 crew. The Seafarers' Assistance Programme said the French couple's yacht, the 24-meter (79 foot) twin-masted Carre D'as IV, was now being used by pirates to launch fresh attacks. “It might very well be used as a decoy to approach other unsuspecting yachts or simulate and signal an engine failure or other emergency at sea, whereby it then would attack any ship coming closer in order to provide assistance,” it said.
