SOMALI pirates stepped up their threats yesterday against a British couple kidnapped on their yacht 16 days ago, saying they would be "punished" unless the commanders of a German warship allowed seven fellow pirates go free.
Paul and Rachel Chandler, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, are being held in a village outside Harardhere, 180 miles north of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, pirate sources said.
"We will punish them with the same punishment that our guys are receiving," said Omer, one of the pirates holding the couple. "If we hear that our guys are tortured, we will also torture them."
Paul, 59, and Rachel, 55, were seized on October 23 as they sailed their 38ft yacht Lynn Rival from the Seychelles to Tanzania.
The pirates who are holding them were referring to seven comrades being held aboard a German warship sailing under the European Union Naval Force (EuFor) flag, after attacking the Cape Saint Vincent, a French fishing vessel.
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Although Omer claimed that the seven Somali men arrested aboard two skiffs were fishermen, a EuFor spokesman said they had been captured as they fired AK-47 assault rifles at the French ship.
European security sources said yesterday that the seven pirates could be tried in France, Germany or Kenya, and that a hostage swap for the Chandlers would not be contemplated.
The Chandlers' captors have demanded a $7m (£4.6m) ransom for their release. Yesterday they appeared to be waiting for negotiations to begin.
The pirates appeared to have been angered by a lack of communication from either the Foreign Office or the Chandlers' family. "I'm waiting for a response from the family, but no one is making any calls to us," Omer said.
The threats against the Chandlers indicated mounting anger among the pirates, who have generally treated their hostages well. However, the majority of their targets have been well- insured commercial vessels.
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The hostages are generally kept aboard their ships for months until a ransom is paid, often running into millions of dollars.
According to Somali sources, the Chandlers have fallen foul of an internecine feud.
They are being held by an inexperienced gang who did not realise how difficult it would be to defend a small yacht and so abandoned it.
They sought refuge aboard a Singapore container ship, which also had been hijacked, but were soon kicked off the vessel. Ever since, they have been travelling overland from village to village, and are being threatened by "senior pirates" who want their colleagues aboard the German ship returned.
The pirates, using two small dinghies and a mother ship, attacked the Chandlers more than 900 miles off the coast of Somalia, eliciting warnings from the international force that the pirates were operating far further offshore than before.
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Most hostages taken by the Somali pirates are treated well. Many have said after their release that their main problem was boredom.
The Chandlers' family did not respond to messages for comment.