By Abdiqani Hassan

BOSASSO, Somalia, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The president of northern Somalia's breakaway Puntland region apologised on Saturday after two Germans tourists were freed following two months being held hostage by pirates.

The two Germans looked ill and dishevelled after they were released by their captors late on Friday. They repeatedly broke down in tears as they sat alongside Puntland President Adde Muse at a news conference in Bosasso.

"We are really sorry for what happened. We put a lot of effort towards their release and I wish to thank everyone who helped," Muse told reporters.

"If any pirate is caught now he will be jailed for 20 years or executed," he vowed.

The two Germans were hijacked off Yemen in June while sailing to Thailand. The pirates ransacked their yacht and then took them to northern Somalia by speedboat.

They were freed after a ransom was paid to the gang. An accomplice of the pirates said the gunman were paid $1 million.

The pair were named by a German news magazine Der Spiegel last month as Juergen K. and Sabine M. They told the magazine they were beaten and given very little to eat.

Juergen K., who was heavily bearded after his captivity, was asked to address the press after Muse spoke. But he could not, and the president consoled him as he sobbed.

The release of the pair followed the freeing on Tuesday of two Italian aid workers held hostage in the south since May.

Piracy has long been rife off the coast of anarchic Somalia.

But it has increased sharply since the start of last year, when the country's weak interim government drove an Islamist movement out of the capital Mogadishu. (Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed in Nairobi; Writing by Daniel Wallis) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)

AlertNet news is provided by