After almost five months of holding kidnapped American/German Michael Scott Moore without results, his kidnappers are getting impatient.
His kidnappers have been demanding a ransom but without any luck. The three dozen kidnappers are living under the daily fear of attack by U.S. Special Operations based in nearby Camp Lemonnier.
After almost five months of holding kidnapped American/German Michael Scott Moore without results, his kidnappers are getting impatient.
His kidnappers have been demanding a ransom but without any luck. The three dozen kidnappers are living under the daily fear of attack by U.S. Special Operations based in nearby Camp Lemonnier.
Mr. Moore went to Somalia in early January of 2012 to write about Somalia and pirates. Now he has a front row seat. He had met a former resident of central Somalia in Germany who had invited him to Galmadug to write about the idea of developing a port to handle World Food Programme deliveries in Hobyo.
Moore knew that Somalia was a dangerous place for foreigners having written about the region since 2008. Today Somalia has just under 300 international hostages currently being held for ransom.
Two weeks into his trip he was scheduled to take the African Express flight to Nairobi via Mogadishu. Although the trip to the airport from his hotel in Galkayo didn't seem that dangerous, the risk factors were there. Western journalists kidnapped by their own or government-provided security guards include Canadian Amanda Lindhout, Australian Nigel Brennan, Brit Colin Freeman and Spaniard José Cendon.
Three months earlier Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted had just wrapped up a class on demining safety and were also on the road to the Galkayo airport. They were kidnapped by their security detail who had secretly colluded with pirates.
Assured of security by forces in Galkayo even after that kidnapping, Moore thought he was safe when he left to catch the flight in Galkayo. They lied. His kidnappers knew he was worth much more in ransom than any publicity he would provide on the plight of the Somali people.
When Moore was kidnapped he was first taken to the Hobyo area. Initially politicians, elders and businessmen tried to negotiate with the kidnappers. Under pressure from locals who did not want to be under attack, the kidnappers immediately called for reinforcements and Moore was quickly moved to Ceel Huur, a pirate launching point near Harardhere. Rumors of Moore moved aboard ships abounded and then the American was taken to the traditional hostage holding area around Wisil.
It appears that Moore may have also have been on assignment for Der Spiegel. After hearing of Moore's kidnap, the German media organization immediately began a campaign to hide their relationship with Moore, sending out emails to censor any media coverage. Emails were sent to Somalia Report and other publications demanding that they cease any coverage of his kidnap. Some publications complied, some did not. There were no inquiries as to his health or safety. His blog has been shut down and Moore's articles on Somalia that date back to 2008 have been removed and can only be found from sources other than Der Spiegel's website.
Moore holds both a U.S. and German passport and it is not clear which country or corporation is taking the lead in his rescue or welfare. Germany currently does not have any anti terrorism resources in the region, but the United States maintains significant intelligence and surveillance assets in Djibouti, Kenya and in the Indian Ocean.
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