The Somalian government called on Saturday for the international community to help stem the wave of recent seafaring pirate attacks off their coast in the Indian Ocean.
The London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported yesterday that a Thai merchant vessel and its crew of 26 have been hijacked by Somalian pirates off their coastline. 
The predominantly Thai crew were kidnapped at gunpoint, and a ransom has been demanded for their release. The merchant ship was en-route from Brazil to Yemen with a cargo of sugar.
A letter to Somalia from the United Nations security council admonished the government. Somalia has largely disintegrated into fiefdoms since the former dictator Siad Barre was ousted in 1991. 
Last weekend, a U.S.-owned cruise ship was attacked with rocket propelled grenades. It is the fourth ship to be attacked in the space of a week. According to the IMB, there have been 23 other pirating attacks in coastal waters off the east African nation since March 15.  
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Pirates hijack Thai merchant ship off Somali coast