My good friend Kieran – he of aidconvoy.net, which features in Up The Creek Without a Mullet and receives 10% of my royalities – is currently working with an organisation called Road To Hope, who are one of many groups attempting to break the illegal siege of Gaza by taking much-needed humanitarian assistance overland through north Africa.

Details are sketchy, but it seems that the convoy was refused entry to Egypt the other day and so hired a boat from Libya.  However, it seems the owner of the ship has yesterday taken some members of the convoy hostage and is sailing northwards into the Mediterranean.  The group contains a number of folk of various nationalities, among them it seems Kieran.

There is this report on an American website, but it seems the most up to date information is coming from the mission’s London contact on Facebook – though not being on Facebook I am unfortunately getting this only second-hand and can’t actually access that information directly.

I’m really quite unclear as to what lies behind this dangerous development, and of course do hope that Kieran and his colleagues are OK.

You’re best not relying on this blog for much in the way of update, and the story is developing even as I write this.  I’ll retweet any key points on Twitter, and I assume the most reliable information is on that Facebook page I linked to above.

Please spread the word if you can – it seems that mainstream media here in the UK is not covering the matter.