Somali pirates holding two Britons captive aboard a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation warned Britain not to try to rescue the couple, according to Reuters. The pirates seized the vessel on Friday morning hundreds of miles out to sea near the Seychelles archipelago. They have taken it to the Somali coast with a view to demanding a ransom for their captives. "If warships surround us, we shall point our guns at the British tourists. They are old and we will take care of them -- that is if we are not attacked," said a pirate called Hassan in the coastal town of Haradheere. Paul and Rachel Chandler, both in their 50s, left the Seychelles aboard their 38-foot yacht, Lynn Rival, on Oct. 22 and were believed to be sailing towards the east African coast. Seychelles coastguard planes searched for the yacht after receiving a distress signal on Friday and said naval forces from the NATO alliance, European Union and United States had joined the mission. Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East Africa Seafarers" Assistance Programme said the yacht had been seen some 30 miles south of the coastal town of Hobyo on Tuesday evening. "Elders in Hobyo want the couple released without conditions, but since the boat has not yet arrived we are waiting to to see if the pirates will go by their wishes, or make ransom demands," Mwangura told Reuters. It was still not clear where the vessel would end up mooring. Hassan said it might sail to Haradheere, a pirate haven where the gunmen who seized the yacht were operating from.
