One of the group that captured the Chinese fishing vessel that was released a few days ago, denied that they were pirates.
“We are not pirates, we are not criminals. We are an isolated community,” said Liban, speaking to Al Jazeera on the phone while on board a Chinese fishing vessel that was seized in December last year.
Lebanon has accused foreign ships of carrying out illegal fishing off Somalia’s coast, depleting marine resources and polluting the coast, which is a threat to the lives of local fishermen.
“They shoot us, destroy our boats, and prevent us from feeding our families,” said Liban, expressing the plight of local fishermen.
On November 25, Liban and his group carried out a kidnapping attack. After weeks of being tracked by a Chinese ship that was operating only 3.2km from the coast of Garmaal.
At three in the morning, he said they boarded the ship. The Somali soldiers who were guarding the ship said that they quickly surrendered, saying that they disarmed them.
