Ten crew members of a French oil supply vessel
seized by gunmen off Cameroon last month have been released unharmed,
the French government and the group which abducted them said weekend.
"They were released ... we sent them back to the
Bakassi territory to the Cameroonian authorities," said General A.G.
Basuo, operations commander of the Niger Delta Defence and Security
Council (NDDSC) which said it carried out the kidnapping.
The seven French nationals, a Tunisian and two
Cameroonians were to be received by Cameroonian President Paul Biya in
the capital Yaounde on Tuesday after which the French would fly home,
French diplomats said.
"My commanders said they were all in good health,"
Basuo added, speaking by telephone. He declined to give more details.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and
Cameroon’s Foreign Ministry had earlier announced the release of the
10.
They were crewing the vessel "Bourbon Sagitta"
operated by French oil services firm Bourbon when they were seized on
Oct. 31 by militia opposed to this year’s transfer of the Bakassi
peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroon, neighbours in the Gulf of Guinea.
Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer, while
Cameroon is a smaller exporter of crude. The Bourbon vessel was
contracted by French oil major Total.
The militia groups, the NDDSC and allied Bakassi
Freedom Fighters, have objected to the Aug. 14 transfer of the Bakassi
peninsula to comply with a World Court ruling. They say they are
fighting for compensation for Nigerian fishermen and their families
who they say are being forced to leave the peninsula.
Basuo declined to say whether any ransom had been
paid for the release or what other terms had been involved.
"I just ordered my commanders to release them," he
said.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier
said the French government had paid no ransom and there was no
indication that any ranson had been paid.
The NDDSC had also been demanding the release of
two militia members held by Cameroon.
A separate statement from Bourbon said the 10 had
received a medical examination after their release and were in good
health.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a
statement he had spoken to his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya and
thanked him for his efforts, which he said had enabled a quick and
successful end to the incident.
Kouchner also thanked Cameroonian and Nigerian
authorities.
"This event underlines the urgent necessity for the
international community to fight effectively against maritime piracy,"
the French foreign minister said.
The United Nations and western law enforcement
agencies are worried about an increase in the activities of armed
pirates in the Gulf of Guinea.
The gunmen have used fast launches to raid and rob
banks and ships far beyond the borders of Nigeria where Niger Delta
oil militants are already fighting the government.
NDDSC commanders last week reported a failed bid to
rescue the Bakassi hostages had been carried out by Nigerian marines.
One militia commander initially reported one of the hostages had been
killed in the rescue bid, but the group later retracted the statement
and said all were well.
Nigerian military spokesmen in the three main
states of the Niger Delta said they were not aware of the hostages
being on Nigerian soil and said no operations had been carried out.
