President Saleh called on the international community to form an international force for confronting the pirates in collaboration with international forces and the countries situated on the Red Sea and the Arab Gulf. "An effective international force must be formed to prevent piracy," Saleh said.

President Saleh added that piracy is enlisted among terrorist actions, and must be dealt with seriously. He called on the government, including the Ministries of Interior and Defense, and the Coast Guards to perform their task to secure ships and navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas.

Meanwhile, Saleh expressed his regret over what Somali pirates do towards Yemen, which is the country that receives and welcomes thousands of Somalis' refugees. "Is this the Somali's generosity towards their Yemeni brothers," Saleh mentioned. "We put up with huge economic, social and health burdens for eighteen years and we are still receiving hundreds of Somalis in Aden, Shabwa, Hadramout, Taiz, Hudeida and everywhere and welcoming them as brothers" Saleh said.

The President’s call for forming an international force came after Somali pirates hijacked a Yemeni cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.

Somali pirates have released the three maritime ships they had kidnapped during last August and September; two of the ships were Malaysian and the third Egyptian.

Somali pirates attacked this year 80 ships while sailing offshore Somali coast the latest of which was the Saudi oil tanker early November.

This incident aroused international concern about sea piracy in the region and its danger on safety of international navigation.

Currently there are fifteen warships in the regional waters close to Yemen, including four NATO vessels, and ships from India, Malaysia and Russia.

From their parts, the India, Russia, Britain and Germany's navies have all fought pirate vessels in the last 14 days.