Germans freed after six-week Somali kidnap ordeal
Officials in Puntland said the freed hostages, a middle-aged man and woman, had been taken to Bossaso, the semi-autonomous region's de-facto capital, where they had caught a plane for the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
"They are safe and sound though the gentleman is weak and tired. He might go to hospital directly," an official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
He added that the hostages were accompanied on the plane by Somali Ambassador Mohamed Ali, who he said had secured their release, and would arrive in Nairobi later in the day.
Jurgen K, 63, and his companion Sabine M, 51, were sailing their yacht through the Gulf of Aden between Yemen and Somalia en route to the beaches of the Thai coast when they were seized by pirates on June 23.
Pirates routinely kidnap foreigners off the coast of Puntland and demand huge ransoms that are often secured with regional officials acting as go-betweens.
One of the elders involved in the release of the Germans, Mohamed Cheick Hassan, said a deal had been struck with the kidnappers late on Friday.
"We succeeded (in gaining) the release of the German hostages late last night after discussing with the kidnappers... they are now free," he said.
The pirates had reportedly demanded millions of euros (dollars) for the pair but Hassan made no mention of any ransom being paid.
The release was confirmed by Puntland minister for security Abdullahi Said Sanater.
"Everything is OK now. They are safe. Puntland ministers are controlling the matter," he said.
Bile Mohamoud Qabowsawde, advisor to the Puntland president, told AFP by telephone that the hostages "are not in good shape because of the difficult situation they lived during the time they were in the hands of the kidnappers. They did not treat them well."
Shortly after the Germans were kidnapped, the German foreign ministry said they had been taken ashore by their abductors.
The pirates allowed the couple to telephone relatives at the beginning of July, according to the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel.
They told family members they were well given the circumstances, the report said.
The German foreign ministry had also sent a package of medication via intermediaries for the man who is a diabetic.
Nothing had been heard of them for several weeks since.
Somalia's waters are among the most pirate-infested in the world. More than 25 ships were seized by pirates in Somali coastal waters last year, according to the International Maritime Bureau, a United Nations agency.
In two high profile incidents back in April, pirates seized a Spanish tuna fishing boat carrying a crew of 26 off the Somali coast and a French luxury yacht with 30 on board in the Gulf of Aden. All were later released unharmed.
Spain and France subsequently brought international pressure to bear and the UN Security Council passed a resolution in June authorising member countries to send warships into Somali waters temporarily in pursuit of pirates.
The resolution, valid through to December, was backed by the government of Somalia, which has no naval capacity of its own to patrol its mammoth 2,300-mile (3,700-kilometre) coastline – the longest in Africa.
The United States has been leading existing patrols to combat piracy in Somali waters – using warships from an international force based in Djibouti.
The International Maritime Bureau says piracy worldwide is on the rise, with seafarers suffering 49 attacks between January and March this year, up 20 per cent from 2007.