Rival pirate groups have reportedly fought over the custody of old British couple who were kidnapped nearly two weeks ago off the coast of East Africa and currently held near a Somali coastal town.

According to pirate sources, the couple Paul Chandlers and his wife Rachel had been taken to an inland town called Bahdo some 125-miles northeast of the notorious pirate haven of Haradheere after reports emerged that a rival gang is preparing to launch assault and take over the custody of the two old Brit sailors.

An associate of pirates who are holding the British couple said his team is prepared to defend the custody of the hostage at all cost from a ‘hard-line group’ which reportedly wants to hand over to a militant group fighting in central Somalia.

“We are hearing that a hard-line group is preparing to launch offensive on our colleagues who are holding the couple in Bahdo, we hope they will not dare it because it will be deadly,” said the pirates associate in a phone interview from Harardhere before leaving for Bahdo with other pirates.

Somali clan elders, who were involved in negotiations to release the two Brits, are reportedly unable to calm down the situation.

The two Brits, Paul Chandler 58 and his wife Rachel 55 were on board their small Yacht when they were kidnapped by Somali pirates in the early hours of 23 October and taken to Somali coast.

The pirates earlier demanded a ransom payment of £4.2 million ($7million) but reduced their demand to £100,000, which the UK government has since declined to meet

Somalia-based sea bandits have caused havoc in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, prompting world powers to deploy warships to patrol and provide security to more than 20,000 ships that transit the waters annually.

The menace, which is highly attributed to lawlessness in the war-torn Somalia, has so far spelt across the high seas near the Horn of African, heart-rending the maritime activities of the whole region.

GAROWE ONLINE