Algeria (Sunatimes) Algeria denied on Sunday reports over the death of its seventeen sailors abducted in Somalia, saying the 17 Algerian sailors were safe and sound.

Algerian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Amar Belani, was quoted by the Algerian official news agency (APS) as saying that they have made the required contacts, and it appeared that all their compatriots abducted by Somali pirates are safe and sound.

Belani rubbished the reports about the sailor’s death saying that there are hope that all the sailors would be able to confirm sooner to their relatives that they alive, emphasizing that authorities will keep working to free them as soon as possible.

The Algerian Foreign Ministry had promised family members of the abducted sailors to free them in July, noting that the government stood firmly against paying any ransom to the pirates.

The MV Blida, an Algerian-flagged bulk carrier with a crew of 27, including 17 from Algeria, was captured in January 2011 by Somali pirates around 150 miles southeast of Salalah in southern Oman.

By Muhiima Ahmed