September 04, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 3, 1429

MOGADISHU, Sept 3: Pirates seized a French sailing yacht off the dangerous northern coast of Somalia, where hijackings of vessels has increased in recent months, officials said on Wednesday.

The French foreign ministry said two French nationals were aboard the yacht that was seized in the Gulf of Aden, north of the lawless Horn of Africa nation.

The Venezuela-registered Carre d'as -- a sixteen-metre leisure boat -- was hijacked on Tuesday, a ministry source in Paris told AFP, but it was not immediately clear how many people were aboard the vessel.

Hassan Alore, the minister for natural resources in Somalia's breakaway Puntland region, said the hijackers had commandeered the boat and were taking it to the village of Eyl, a pirate liar south of Puntland's capital Bossaso.

“The pirates already got seven other ships hijacked off the Somalia coast in Eyl village,” Alore added, saying the vessel was currently at Calula village east of Bossaso.

“France firmly condemns this act of piracy and calls for the immediate release of the people held on board this yacht. Our prime concern is the safety of our compatriots,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said a crisis meeting had been held on Wednesday to begin moves to secure the release of the yacht as quickly as possible.—AFP