Indonesians hostage in Sri Lanka ferry attack

Indonesians hostage in Sri Lanka ferry attack

COLOMBO (AFP): Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas destroyed a
passenger ferry yesterday and took its nine-member crew hostage,
including two Indonesians, according to officials and the owners
of the vessel.

The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
guerrillas boarded the ferry, the MV Misen, near the northwestern
coastal town of Pesali and grabbed the crew, the Defense Ministry
said.

It said another civilian ferry alerted the security forces to
the attack on the MV Misen but as navy gunboats approached the
area, the Tigers escaped together with the nine crewmen aboard
four speed boats.

The attackers torched the MV Misen as it prepared to take
about 300 passengers to Jaffna as part of the government's effort
to re-settle Tamil civilians displaced by fighting there in 1995,
the ministry said.

The 500-seater vessel was skippered by an Indonesian, Nang
Hadi, the Sri Lankan owner of the vessel said, adding that the
chief engineer was also an Indonesian identified as Imam Wahyudi.

Officials said the vessel had already done two trips ferrying
Tamil civilians to Jaffna when it was attacked.

The ferry provides a crucial bridge to Jaffna because the main
land route is held by the Tigers and fighting is raging for
control of the land access to the peninsula.

The owners of the vessel said they were in touch with the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to secure the
release of the crew but there was no immediate word about their
fate.