Indonesians hostage in Sri Lanka ferry attack<\/p>\n
COLOMBO (AFP): Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas destroyed a
\npassenger ferry yesterday and took its nine-member crew hostage,
\nincluding two Indonesians, according to officials and the owners
\nof the vessel.<\/p>\n
The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
\nguerrillas boarded the ferry, the MV Misen, near the northwestern
\ncoastal town of Pesali and grabbed the crew, the Defense Ministry
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
It said another civilian ferry alerted the security forces to
\nthe attack on the MV Misen but as navy gunboats approached the
\narea, the Tigers escaped together with the nine crewmen aboard
\nfour speed boats.<\/p>\n
The attackers torched the MV Misen as it prepared to take
\nabout 300 passengers to Jaffna as part of the government's effort
\nto re-settle Tamil civilians displaced by fighting there in 1995,
\nthe ministry said.<\/p>\n
The 500-seater vessel was skippered by an Indonesian, Nang
\nHadi, the Sri Lankan owner of the vessel said, adding that the
\nchief engineer was also an Indonesian identified as Imam Wahyudi.<\/p>\n
Officials said the vessel had already done two trips ferrying
\nTamil civilians to Jaffna when it was attacked.<\/p>\n
The ferry provides a crucial bridge to Jaffna because the main
\nland route is held by the Tigers and fighting is raging for
\ncontrol of the land access to the peninsula.<\/p>\n
The owners of the vessel said they were in touch with the
\nInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to secure the
\nrelease of the crew but there was no immediate word about their
\nfate.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesians-hostage-in-sri-lanka-ferry-attack-1447893297",
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