Africa News
Yemen forces clash with pirates seizing oil tanker in Gulf of Aden
Apr 26, 2009, 12:32 GMT
Sana'a, Yemen - Yemeni coast guard gunboats clashed with Somali pirates seizing a Yemeni oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, a government official said.
The official, who asked anonymity, told the German Press Agency dpa that the tanker Qana was empty of cargo when the pirates attacked it off the Yemeni coast earlier in the day.
'A gunfight is ongoing between the coast guard units and the pirates,' to official said.
He said the vessel was sailing from the Arabian Sea Yemeni port of Nashtoon to the southern port city of Aden when the pirates hijacked it.
The issue of piracy in the waters off Somalia, generally- recognised as a failed state, have created an international crisis for shipping, with the US navy and warships from EU countries now attempting to patrol the seas off the Horn of Africa.
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