(SomaliNet) Islamist insurgents had demanded to be given some of the weapons aboard a hijacked Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks - but the pirates holding it had refused, a local official said on Sunday. According to a resident, the Islamist gunmen from the Al Shabaab group had also received a five percent cut of the $1,5-million (R12,8-million) paid out for a Spanish ship released several months ago. Two weeks ago, heavily armed pirates captured the MV Faina near Hobyo town in central Somalia, and are now demanding a $20-million (R170-million) ransom. Several United States navy ships are watching it to ensure that none of the weapons are unloaded.
"Al Shabaab wanted some weapons from the Ukrainian ship, but the pirates rejected their demands," a local official who asked not to be named said. "Al Shabaab went away after they were rejected by the residents and the pirates.
"I am sure the group is not far from the area," the official added.
A relative of the pirates said the insurgents had received a five percent share of the last ransom paid, but had been demanding more. "Al Shabaab demanded more money from pirates and they disagreed," said Hussein Ali.
They were also expecting a share of money paid out for the Ukrainian ship and two Greek ships held at Hobyo, he said. "They are waiting for some money from these three ships held in our area. Most of the Al Shabaab who asked for money are in the same sub-subclan with the pirates around Hobyo," Ali said.
The US has said that the Al Shabaab group is a terrorist organisation linked to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda.
Meanwhile, pirates who hijacked two Malaysian tankers in the Gulf of Aden threatened to kill their captives, but let their Muslim hostages fast and pray to observe the month of Ramadan, the freed crew said on Saturday. The pirates had seized the two vessels, the Bunga Melati 2 and the Bunga Melati 5, and 80 crew members in August, and released them last month after the vessels' owner, MISC, paid an undisclosed amount as ransom.
Crew members who arrived in Malaysia on Saturday recounted an ordeal marked by language barriers, variable treatment by the pirates and the accidental death of a Filipino crew member who was killed when a bullet ricocheted off a ceiling.
Maheshwaran Muniandy, the captain on board the Bunga Melati 5, said the pirates had thrust guns at their hostages "many times". But he eventually concluded that the hijackers did not intend to kill them. "After 12 days being there, I came to the conclusion that intentionally, they were not going to kill any of my crew," Muniandy said.