(SomaliNet) Armed Somali gunmen hijacked an Indian dhow near the main port of Mogadishu late Thursday in the latest attack in a surge of piracy off the Somali coast this year, Kenya 's maritime official confirmed on Friday. Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP), said the pirates seized the Al Aqeeq merchant sailing vessel but the identity of the crew onboard and their nationalities have not been established. "Indian dhow was hijacked by pirates just outside Mogadishuport on Thursday. The vessel appears to be a dhow, its size is still not known at this time," Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone early Friday. "The number of the crew members onboard and their nationalities are not yet know. Its movement is not yet clear. We also have no information about whether the dhow was arriving or leaving the port," he said.
Hijackings and piracy have surged since last month as armed groups take advantage of a lack of law and order in the country, which has been without an effective central government since 1991. The attacks have halted food aid deliveries to Somalia by sea, after an attempt by pirates to seize a ship chartered by the UN food relief agency. On Sunday, the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) said their program to feed one million Somalis is under threat.
| It might be a little easier to feed the starving masses if you were to, you know, kill the pirates and sink their ships. Eventually they'd get the message and become farmers or auto mechanics. |