Somali pirates 'in land attack'

Mogadishu, 03 March-(ANA)-New land tactics being employed by Somali pirates may be a cause for concern, a UN spokesman has said.

Peter Smerdon said three trucks and their drivers were being held in the pirate town of Eyl after delivering food aid last week in central Somalia.

He said they were hijacked on Thursday when travelling without an escort in the first incident of its kind.

Pirates have seized several ships carrying food aid and such boats are now brought in by naval escort.

War-torn Somalia has had no functioning government since 1991, allowing pirates to operate along the lawless coast, almost with impunity.

Most of the country is in turmoil, with the interim government and African Union peacekeepers limited to a few key areas of the capital as they battle hardline Islamist militants who control much of the south. (ANA)

FA/ANA/03 March 2010-----