Image copyright PA Image caption President Granger said the deadly pirate attacks had "come as a great setback"

Guyana's President David Granger has described as a "massacre" a pirate attack last week that is feared to have killed at least a dozen fishermen.

"It is a great massacre, a great tragedy," Mr Granger said on Thursday.

Four boats carrying some 20 people were attacked off the coast of neighbouring Suriname in South America last Friday, local authorities said.

The bodies of three men have since been found. Four others were said to have escaped, Reuters news agency reported.

Some of the fishermen who remain missing were forced into the sea with weights tied to their legs, according to reports from the survivors.

The men, most of them Guyanese, were beaten and robbed.

Mr Granger told reporters on Thursday that Guyana had been "very successful" in curbing piracy in the region but that the latest deadly attacks had "come as a great setback".

"We extend sympathy to the families of the bereaved," he added.

Search and rescue teams are continuing operations in the region, with Surinamese and Guyanese authorities working together, Mr Granger said.

The families of the victims were told that they would be supported by the government.

Piracy has long been an issue in the waters off Suriname and Guyana, although the number of incidents reported has reduced in recent years.</s>Attack on fishermen in Suriname looks like retaliation between fishermen

By Ivan Cairo in Suriname

 PARAMARIBO – Authorities in Suriname confirmed that a corpse was discovered yesterday on a mud bank offshore, presumably one of the victims of the attack last Friday on four fishing boats in Surinamese waters near the maritime border with French-Guiana.

 The corpse was discovered by pilots of a private airline that had undertaken a search on its own initiative. The Coast Guard was directed to the area to recover the body.

 “It is almost certain that it is one of the missing because the body was discovered near the place where the boats were attacked,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Slijngard, Director of the National Coordination Centre for Disaster Management (NCCR) on local radio. Meanwhile, information circulated late afternoon Wednesday that two more bodies were discovered.

 According to several sources, the armed raid on the four fishing vessels last Friday, that left 16 men missing, is the result of an old feud, a turf war, between Guyanese fishermen. Numerous individuals in the fisheries sector are aware of it, but fishermen are reluctant to speak about this in public. This incident has to do with “rights” that fishermen claim on certain areas of the fishing grounds.

 On 28 February, Captain Mark Skeete became the first fatality of the dispute, according to insiders. He was shot and killed point blank by attackers. The four crew members of Skeete’s boat were also physically attacked. Eventually, they were taken to the shoreline where they were rescued by another fishing boat several days later.

 Various sources indicate to local journalists that associates of Skeete vowed to retaliate in revenge. And a prize was placed on the head of the individuals who allegedly had ordered his killing.

 In early April, the police reported a ‘drive by shooting’ took place on 30th March, in which the 40-year-old businessman Somnath Manohar was killed. He was gunned down while sitting in front of his home with friends and family in the Munder residential area in Paramaribo.

 An employee who was also hit survived. Afterward, it became clear that Manohar was a fisherman and according to insiders, he would be the brain behind the murder of Skeete, along with the killing of another man who was murdered in Guyana.

 The suspects in the drive-by shooting escaped and the investigation into this killing is ongoing. Authorities believe that the perpetrators have fled to Guyana.

 According to Lieutenant Colonel Slijngard, the attacks on Friday have all the marks of a contract killing. He noticed that the attackers didn’t come to rob the fishermen of their catch or other valuables.

 “If you just came to steal why would you tie a victim’s hands behind his back, tie a battery to his legs and throw him overboard?”, he argued. The authorities now have certain information that is being pursued to find out exactly what has happened and to prevent further attacks.

 So far, there is credible intelligence he said that a gang led by two Guyanese brothers is responsible for the recent attacks on fishermen in Surinamese waters. The NCCR-official said that one of the suspects is based in Guyana while the other one is residing in Suriname.

 Slijngard further noticed that international cooperation, especially with Guyana mainly in the field of sharing intelligence, is vital to bring the criminals to justice.

 In the meantime, for fear of the lives of their employees, the boat owners are keeping their vessels ashore. Since Monday, the price of fish on the local market has risen sharply and it is feared that scarcity will occur within a short period of time if they don’t venture out to sea.

 In a meeting with representatives of the government, the Fishermen Collective Association called for measures by the Surinamese Government to guarantee safety at sea.</s>GEORGETOWN/PARAMARIBO (Reuters) - At least a dozen fishermen from Guyana are missing, feared dead, after a pirate attack off the coast of neighboring Suriname last week that Guyana’s president called a “massacre” on Thursday.

The bodies of three fishermen have been found, while four escaped and swam to shore, according to Suriname authorities. Authorities from both countries are continuing to search for the missing men.

Media reports, citing survivors, said that the fishermen were forced to jump in the sea, some with weights tied to their legs.

Piracy has long been rife in the waters off the tiny nations of Suriname and Guyana, as well as neighboring Venezuela.

“We have been very successful over the last three years in curbing piracy. This has come as a setback,” Guyana President David Granger said.

His counterpart in Suriname, President Desi Bouterse, has yet to speak publicly on the subject, spurring criticisms of a lack of response from the government.

Jerry Slijngard, who coordinates Suriname’s disaster management center, said that victims’ families would be supported by the government.

“The exchange of information, patrols by maritime police and the deployment of technology ... will contribute to reducing this form of crime,” he said in a statement.

Another boat was attacked off Suriname on Wednesday, according to a fishermen’s association, who said the captain was shot dead but the rest of the crew survived.</s>Rescue teams from Suriname — South America's smallest country — were again searching nearby coastal waters on Thursday after a group of at least 12 fishermen disppeared last week while fishing on four ships.

The men were the apparent victims of local pirates who have terrorized the Atlantic Ocean coasts of Suriname, Guyana, and neighboring Venezuela for years.

Read more: Missing US family found after river pirate attack in Brazil

What we know about the attack
• As many as 19 fishermen set sail on Friday in four boats when they came under attack from pirates.
• Four of them managed to swim to shore and raise the alarm.
• Local media cited survivors as saying that the men were forced to jump in the sea, some with weights tied to their legs.
• The bodies of three of the fishermen were recovered on Wednesday.
• The others are now feared dead too.
• On Wednesday, a separate pirate attack was reported on a vessel close to the Matapica canal, which left the ship's captain dead.

Read more: Somali pirates release ship and hostages with no ransom

Guyana's president David Granger described the attacks as a "massacre," adding that they were a "setback" to the two countries' success in tackling piracy over the previous three years.

His counterpart in Suriname, President Desi Bouterse, has faced criticism for not speaking publicly about the incidents.

The director of Suriname's national disaster coordination center, Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Slijngard, said the rescue operation had been hampered by unfavorable sea conditions.

Describing Wednesday's latest attack, the secretary of the Surinam Fishermen's Society, Mark Lall, said the whereabouts of the remaining members of the ship's crew are uncertain.

Long history of robberies at sea: Piracy has been rife for decades in the waters off Suriname and Guyana. Authorities believe the latest attacks were not random acts of piracy, as first claimed, but instead carried out by an organized group. Other reports have suggested the victims may have been killed as part of a territorial dispute between local fishermen.</s>Pirate attack off Suriname leaves at least a dozen missing, feared dead

At least a dozen fishermen from Guyana are missing, feared dead, after a pirate attack off the coast of neighboring Suriname last week that Guyana’s president called a “massacre” on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The bodies of three fishermen have been found, while four escaped and swam to shore, according to Suriname authorities. Authorities from both countries are continuing to search for the missing men.

Media reports, citing survivors, said that the fishermen were forced to jump in the sea, some with weights tied to their legs.

Piracy has long been rife in the waters off the tiny nations of Suriname and Guyana, as well as neighboring Venezuela.

“We have been very successful over the last three years in curbing piracy. This has come as a setback,” Guyana President David Granger said.</s>High seas attack in Suriname… Brother of recently gunned down man arrested in Guyana

As local authorities continue to hunt for the suspects believed to be those who committed the deadly attack on 20 fishermen in Suriname waters, B’ Division Police have made an arrest.

 Senior police sources in the Division have confirmed that Nakool “Fyah” Manohar, attached to the Number 43 Fishing Co-op, was arrested yesterday at his home in the said village. Manohar’s brother, Somnauth Manohar, was killed in his yard in Suriname during a drive-by shooting on March 30, 2018. It is suspected that the recent attack was a reprisal for his death. Somnauth was said to be involved in piracy acts on fishermen out at sea.

 At the home of “Fyah”, his wife related that many times when there is a piracy attack in the waters her husband is arrested, questioned and subsequently released.

 “Every time it get ah hijacking dem a come hold he up and hold he for 72 hours and then we does gotta go and tek lawyer and dem never charge he”, she explained.

 The woman said that on the day of the attack at sea, her husband was at home, while making it clear that he no longer works out at sea “but get boats does go out at sea”. She went on to explain that her brother-in-law who was shot, “me husband and he never use to really talk”.

 According to her, shortly after the deadly attack on the fishermen on Friday, the police had informed them that someone had called them and given evidence to prove that her husband “tek out revenge”. She also mentioned that her husband is not a licenced firearm holder but had applied. She also added that they have since employed the services of an Attorney Bernard DaSilva.

 Additionally, a source in Suriname has revealed that the boat used in the pirate attack had “SK” painted on the front. It was later confirmed by this publication, that the fishing boats branded with “SK” are registered only to Guyanese.

 However, amidst the horrifying news of what took place in neighbouring Suriname, fishermen from the Number 66 Fishing Co-op have expressed fear for themselves and fellow colleagues. One fisherman said that he has been fishing for over 20 years and was attacked by pirates on many occasions, one of the recent attacks left him with broken ribs.

He opined that nothing can protect fishermen when they venture out to sea and if guns are given he believes that the very fishermen who are given the guns will use on each other “when dem drink up and get ignorant”.

 Indar Rampersaud, fisherman and Vice Chairman at Number 66 Co-op said that he feels sad about the situation but it is left on the Suriname authorities to act on reports when attacks occur in the waters.

 “We can’t blame our police or our Coast Guard, because where we are fishing from when I leave this creek here, yuh enter into Suriname waters. Right now for our protection, our co-op has guns that was given by the previous government, so at least that is some form of protection for us out there”, Rampersaud added.

 Regional Chairman David Armogan also weighed in on the attack, at the monthly statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council Region Six. The RDC has since condemned the murderous events that unfolded days ago.

 Armogan stated, “this is a very tragic time for the relatives of these missing men and this will also put a dent on other people wanting to go out to go fish as well”.

Armogan stressed that the fishermen have been calling for guns for a very long time, “maybe if they had things to fight back these pirates or maybe if these pirates knew that these fishermen had guns it would have been a different story. So I think we need to look back at that policy and if we want fishing to proceed and grow then I think we need to enable these fishermen with radios and also firearms; their lives are in danger and their families are at risk”.

 It is his firm belief that some level of safety must be provided to the fishermen who leave their homes to work for an honest dollar to maintain their respective families.

 “They are at the mercy of these pirates”, Armogan charged.

 Secretary for Vissercollectief Mark Lall has confirmed that only one body was brought to shore. Sources in neighbouring Suriname said that there seems to be difficulty in bringing the other bodies to shore even though they were spotted.</s>Guyanese and Suriname authorities have activated a major search and rescue operation for 16 fishermen, 15 of them said to be Guyanese, who were beaten and thrown overboard by pirates last Friday night.

Up to late last evening, Suriname justice minister, Stuart Getrouwof, said that the National Coordination Centre for Disaster Relief (NCCR), the National Army and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (LVV) have launched an in-depth investigation.

 Guyana’s Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, disclosed that he has received information and has activated the necessary mechanisms of cooperation.

 “There are immediate searches, we are still working,” the Suriname minister assures in a Star Nieuws report.

 ”I read that the actions have stopped, nothing is less true,” says the minister. The Coast Guard, the military and the Police Force Suriname are still looking for survivors with support from French Guiana. According to the minister, the searches will continue. An aircraft is being used also, he said.

 The minister pointed out that the search is of enormous importance to the family members of the fishermen. There were initial reports in Suriname yesterday that the search was abandoned.

 RETALIATION

 The four boats with 20 crew members were attacked by sea pirates on Friday evening in Surinamese waters in the vicinity of the Wia Wia bank. Only four of the crew members, including a captain of one of the boats, managed to make it to shore. The rest are believed to have perished.

 It is believed that the attack was retaliation by pirates from Guyana for the shooting death of their leader, a Guyanese pirate called “Paddy” a few weeks ago. The pirates blamed the fishermen. The pirate leader was reportedly shot dead during an attack on fishing vessels.

 It did not make the news in Guyana.

 Since the news of the attack on Friday evening became known, the jetty at the Anton Dragtenweg, Suriname, where these boats normally moor, was flooded by desperate family members. They believe the authorities have acted too slowly.

 Officials in Suriname said that 15 of the missing men are indeed Guyanese, living both in Guyana and in Suriname.

 Mark Lall, chairman of the Visserscollectief, confirmed that one of the vessels was found submerged.

 The fishermen were thrown overboard or had to jump into the water themselves. One of the crew members could not swim and he disappeared. Another person’s hands were tied and a car battery was attached to his feet, after which he was thrown overboard.

 The attackers were recognized as Guyanese with names given as ‘Dick’, ‘Bolo’, ‘Sanbat’ and ‘Crack Head’. They are said to be known pirates from Guyana.

 “The chance of survivors is very small,” says Lall.

 The captain, a Guyanese whose name was given as ‘Pattar’, and who survived the gruesome assault, told Suriname police that he saw how the hijackers beat the crew members, who were already wounded and in the water, with bamboo sticks on their heads.

 THOSE MISSING

Among the missing, there are men between 20 and 21 years old.

 On Facebook, families started posting pictures of their missing loved ones.

 From the Number Two Village, Canje, East Berbice, 19-year-old Ralph Anthony Couchman called ‘Burnham’ is missing. His family said this was his third trip to Suriname to work on the boat.

 Another man, from the same village, known only as ‘Crank’ is one of the men that is missing too.

 Across at Fort Ordnance Housing Scheme, in Canje, Ganesh Persaud called ‘Vicky’ was said to be missing. Relatives of the 27-year-old were in Suriname yesterday searching for answers.

 Another victim was identified as Tilaknauth Mohabir, 50.

 In Guyana, Crime Chief, Paul Williams, speaking with this publication via telephone, disclosed that authorities here are in close contact with their counterparts in Suriname. Williams said that the police in Suriname have since told him that the attack was carried out on Friday, but it was not reported until Saturday.

 Williams said that the search had been concentrated on two areas..

 Meanwhile, fishermen at the Number 43 fishing wharf, on the Corentyne, said that the attack “did not just happen like that” but there was the strong likelihood that it was sparked by an old rivalry between fishermen.

 According to the fishermen, there would be friction when fishermen infringe on waters of others.

 From information to the Guyanese fishermen, the attack occurred between the French Guiana, Cayenne and Parimaribo, Suriname borders.

 It was explained that in order for fishermen to ply their trade in that area, a license to fish is required. Guyanese many times, they added, would “rent licence from Suriname people to go deh and sometimes dem does go deh without licence (illegally) and fish”.

 According to one fisherman, “Dem does come over and hire people, some time from Mon Repos, Rosignol, all over. Dem people that missing mussy living in Suriname, because the area where that thing happen is far and we boats them don’t go out there. Dem does hire you and take you over and you live deh for six months and you come and go back if you want.”

 Suriname news was reporting that the searchers included the boat owners and even a helicopter.

 The criticisms of the attacks, one of the deadliest by pirates in recent years, were swift, with calls for authorities in Guyana to track down the pirates.

 Thousands of Guyanese live in that neighbouring country. It is not unknown for scores of Guyanese fishermen to be working in Suriname waters and to return after every trip.

 It has been that way for years now.</s>7 Guyanese arrested in Suriname -wounded survivor surfaces; had walked five days in swamp

As both Guyana and Suriname continue to come to grips with two of the worst cases of pirate attacks on fishermen in the span of six days, the hopes of families have lifted with one survivor who has surfaced yesterday.

 According to reports in neighbouring Suriname yesterday, the fisherman, whose only name was given as “Sherwyn” walked through swamp for five days. The man was picked up sometime Wednesday evening by a boat, badly shaken and wounded. He was transported to a Suriname hospital in a critical condition.

This is now the fifth survivor of the gruesome attacks on several Surinamese fishing boats that occurred Friday night. He reportedly said that the pirates came with one intention – to kill.

 He walked through the swamp for five days, looking for help. He would have arrived at Braamspunt around 10:00 yesterday morning.

 ‘Sherwyn’ is said to be one of 19 Guyanese and one Surinamese who were chopped, beaten and thrown overboard about 40 miles from Paramaribo last Friday night. A number of the men had batteries tied to their legs during the murderous rampage on four fishing boats.

 Men were shot at, and beaten with pieces of wood while in the water.

The announcement of the one survivor would also come amidst news that at least seven fishermen, said to be Guyanese, were arrested in Suriname.

 In Guyana there was one arrest in Berbice (See separate story –‘Brother of recently gunned down man arrested in Guyana’).

 With regards to the search, Suriname news reported that several bodies have been spotted, but high tides have made recovery efforts difficult.

 Three bodies have been brought to shore and while it is initially suspected that one is the remains of 27-year-old Dinesh ‘Vicky’ Persaud, one of the missing fishermen, family members confirmed from Suriname yesterday that they have not identified

the body as yet. This should be done today. The three bodies showed clear signs of serious injuries.

 Earlier on Wednesday evening, fishermen and a few family members gathered at the mooring dock at the Anton Dragtenweg where one of unmanned boats had been towed to. In the boat the fishermen lit incense in honour of their colleagues.

 The three bodies have been seized by the judiciary, it is being reported.

 The investigation is being continued by the Capital Crimes department. A second Coast Guard boat sailed out on Wednesday evening to search for the other thirteen missing persons.

 Suriname is expected to hold a walk to mourn the situation.

Suriname news reported that attacks are as a result of an old feud between fishermen. It is known, but fishermen refuse to speak about this in public. To the newspaper, it has to do with ‘rights’ that fishermen would have to fish in certain areas.

On 28 February, captain Mark Skeete became the first fatal victim of the dispute, according to insiders. Near the mouth of the Marowijne River, he was shot by robbers.

 A price was placed on the heads of the people who would have been behind Skeete’s murder. At the beginning of April, the police reported that there was a drive-by shooting on 30 March, the forty-year-old entrepreneur Somnath Manohar died. He was sitting with employees and family at his home at Munder. An employee

Manohar appears to be a fisherman and according to insiders, Suriname news reported yesterday, he would be the brain behind the murder of Skeete, along with another man who was murdered in Guyana.

 Suriname authorities are convinced that the attacks are more than piracy.

The way in which the attackers have gone to work is a strong indication that they were committed to murder rather than robbery. The director stated that the perpetrators could only be caught on the basis of international cooperation, particularly with Guyana.

 Several Guyanese families have journeyed to Suriname in hopes of having

news of their loved ones.

 Yesterday, Guyana’s ambassador to Suriname, Keith George said that he was in contact with at least six families. He would have also visited families camping out at a Paramaribo wharf awaiting word.

 The ambassador said he is keeping authorities in Guyana posted on the situation.

What is compounding the situation is the identification of the missing. Many of the

fishermen have no records and or even passports. They have call names. So authorities have the double trouble of determining whether the missing men are Guyanese or from Suriname. This would also lead to problems of alerting family members, George said.

 Among those missing are Bharrat Heralall, Gavin Outar, Ralph ‘Burnham’ Couchman, Dinesh ‘Vicky’ Persaud, Joshua Glenroy Jones, Tilaknauth Mohabir, Rajkumar Bissessar, Ramesh Sancharra and Ganesh Beharry.</s>PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) — Sixteen fishermen are missing and feared dead after pirates raided their boats off the coast of Suriname and forced them to jump overboard, authorities in the South American country said Monday.

The fishermen were part of a group of 20 in four boats who were attacked off the Atlantic coast of Suriname, said Cmdr. Jerry Slijngard of the Surinamese Coast Guard.

Four men managed to swim to shore and three of them remain hospitalized. They told police and the Coast Guard that the assailants, suspected of coming from neighboring Guyana because of their accents, beat them with machetes and forced them to jump into the sea. They said some of the victims had batteries tied to their legs to weigh them down.

Coast Guard and police vessels, along with members of the Fisheries Collective Association, have searched for the missing men and the pirates since the attack late Friday.

"We are still searching the area with family members of the fishermen, hoping for a miracle," said Mark Lall, president of the Fisheries Collective Association.

Small-scale piracy has long been a fact of life along the largely undeveloped coasts of Suriname and Guyana, which lie on the northeastern shoulder of South America. But this level of violence is rare.

Lall said a captain of a Surinamese vessel was killed by pirates in February when he put up resistance during a robbery.

He called on the government to increase maritime police and Coast Guard patrols and said local fishermen have been too fearful to go out to sea to work since Friday's attack.

"In the past, they used to get away with the catch or with the boat's engine," Lall said. "But now human lives don't count."</s>Three bodies of the 16 missing fishermen were salvaged Wednesday night by Suriname’s Coast Guard and members of that neighbouring country’s maritime police.

Director of the National Coordination Center for Disaster Management told media in Suriname that the bodies showed signs of crime. Jerry Slijngaard, according to a report in the Surinamese newspaper, De Ware Tijd.

The bodies were located in the Wia Wia Bank area after authorities waited for high tide to reach the location.

Meanwhile, it is believed that the body which was discovered on Wednesday by an airline pilot might be that of Danesh Persaud, a Suriname official said. The body was seen at Wia Wia Bank some 30 miles from where the unusual event occurred.

Earlier Wednesday evening, fishermen and a few family members gathered at the mooring dock at the Anton Dragtenweg where one of unmanned boats had been towed to. In the boat the fishermen lit incense in honor of their colleagues.

The bodies have now been held by the authorities as investigations continue into the almost one-week old incident. Four fishermen managed to survive the ordeal.

Surinamese authorities believed that the perpetrators was Guyanese, based on accounts by the four survivors that their accidents sounded like persons from Guyana.

It has been five days since some 20 fishermen, which include both Guyanese and Surinamese nationality were brutally terrorised and attacked, out at sea on the Suriname Coast, while plying their trade last Friday evening (April 27, 2018) .

Danesh Persaud called Vicky, 28, a father of two, was one of the men, reported to be among those who endured the pirate attack. Persaud’s sister, Yurajwatie Hussain, who spoke with Demerara Waves Online News on Wednesday explained that what her family is going through at the moment cannot be described. She told reporters that her brother, who had gone to work since January, would frequently keep in contact with his family.

Hussain said that the last person who spoke to her brother was his wife and was told that he was about to cook ‘cat fish curry’ for work. “His wife asked him if it’s so late you cooking, he said yes and when they found the boat it was the same catfish curry.” Hussain further explained that after receiving the unpleasant news on Saturday family member have since travelled to Suriname for information and to seek answers to their questions.

Persaud was scheduled to return home to celebrate his birthday with his family on May 27.

Doris Harihar, 75, the grandmother of another missing fisherman, 20 year old Rolph ‘Burnhum/Winky’ Coutchman, cried uncontrollably as she related to this Online Publication that her only source of income is her monthly pension and she depends solely on her grandson (Coutchman) for assistance.

The elderly woman expressed her dissatisfaction about how the situation is being dealt with by the relevant authorities, sighting that to her little is being done by Guyana Government but the Government of Suriname she said, is working “nonstop to discover the bodies and details”.

 “I want to travel to Suriname to get information, I just want him home. Dead or alive I will feel satisfied.”

The father, uncle and cousins of Danesh ‘Vicky’ Persaud, while a cousin of Ralph Coutchman has since travelled to Suriname. The relatives, several of whom travelled one or two days after the incident are hoping to return with the positive.

Demerara Wave Online News understands that four persons reportedly survived the tragedy. Three of the four are said to be receiving medical attention at a hospital in neighbouring Suriname. They were pulled out of the water by other fishing vessels and two fishermen were found in a boat. A captain reported that warning shots were fired at his boat; he reported that the men then entered his boat and assaulted his crew. He said that he was thrown overboard but he managed to swim away.

On Friday last a group of 20 fishermen were assaulted. They were beaten and robbed by pirates while out on the Suriname Coast. They were severely chopped and tossed overboard.
The government of Guyana reports that pirates attacked fishermen off the coast of neighboring Suriname.