SOMALI PIRATES' TRIAL RESUMED

ADEN, Feb. 24 (Saba) - A court of first instance in Aden resumed on Wednesday the trial of 22 Somalis in charges of piracy.

The Somalis were also prosecuted for attempting hijacking commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden waters.

In the today session, the prosecution has continued reading the indictments of a number of the accused and listen to their responses.

The court decided to adjourn the trial to March 17th.

In recent years, piracy has soared off Somalia sparking regional and international concerns over threats to one of the world's busiest waterways, where about 20,000 vessels pass a year.

In response, many countries dispatched anti-pirate missions into the region, which are now patrolling the Arabian and Red Seas.

According to economic experts Yemen's economy are badly affected by piracy. The increasing piracy attacks have affected navigation activities in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. The national economy has sustained huge losses caused by piracy because of reduction numbers of ships using Yemeni ports for fuelling and services.

Piracy has been growing because of the deteriorating situations in Somalia that forced over 700,000 people seeking refuge in Yemen.

The continuous disorder there and absence of state have encouraged pirates to expand their operations to interrupt international commercial ships.

In 2009, about 45 piracy attacks have been reported in addition to 209 attempts of piracy, compared to about 42 kidnapping cases and 69 attempts in 2008.

AF/AF