Wanted: countries to stand guard on ships

Reported incidents on piracy
Aid officials gave warning yesterday that time was running out to feed millions of people at risk of starvation in Somalia, where a war-ravaged population faces its worst humanitarian crisis in 17 years.

Piracy and lawlessness in the capital, Mogadishu, have long made aid operations extremely hazardous. Yesterday, as port workers unloaded sacks of sorghum from a Panamanian-registered cargo ship, United Nations officials said that they desperately needed naval vessels to provide escorts for future aid shipments.

At the end of the month the Canadian Navy will withdraw its frigate, HMCS Ville de Quebec, from the region, leaving cargo ships with no defence against the pirates.

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