problems , according to Maletta . `` Families are finding it difficult to meet their most basic needs , as prices for basic food items are at record high levels , '' he said . Not only do civilians need emergency aid , they also need protection from military abuses , aid groups said . `` Since Somalia 's security forces have committed so many violent abuses against civilians , efforts to strengthen them also need to make them more accountable , '' said Georgette Gagnon , Africa director for Human Rights Watch . The combination of security and humanitarian assistance is necessary to curb piracy in the region , which borders the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean , aid groups said . The April 8 hijacking of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship Maersk Alabama made headlines worldwide when its American captain , Richard Phillips , was held hostage by four Somali men . Phillips was rescued four days later , after U.S. Navy snipers fatally shot three pirates . The fourth suspect , Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse , was brought to New York to face federal piracy charges . Ships with aid supplies destined for countries in the region
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Recent headlines focusing on the rash of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia should instead focus on the humanitarian crisis driving Somalis to commit crimes on the high seas , an international aid group said Thursday . Somalia 's population have suffered from a lack of the most basic services . An estimated one-third of Somalia 's population desperately needs emergency aid , the international agency Oxfam said , as donors to Somalia met in Brussels , Belgium . `` Without economic opportunities offering alternatives to criminality , and without law and order to curb these activities , then the massive economic returns of hijacking ships will continue to drive piracy , '' Robert Maletta , policy adviser for Oxfam , said in a news release . `` The international community must urgently focus their attention on finding ways to assist the millions of people in desperate need , '' Maletta said . Somalia , which is racked by poverty and conflict , has not had a fully functioning government since 1991 , when its president was overthrown in Mogadishu , the capital . Drought and rising food prices have added to the nation 's