SANAA - Yemen Monday urged international aid for its efforts to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and control continuous influx of African refugees, the official Saba news agency reported.

That appeal was made by Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi at the International Conference on Piracy held in Dubai, it said.

"Al-Qirbi renewed Yemen's call for the international community to help aid Yemeni government's efforts on combating piracy and arranging the continuing influx of African refugees," Saba reported.

"The Somali political crisis is one of the most important reasons behind the existence of piracy in the region," the minister was quoted as saying at the conference.

He warned that escalating piracy activities were casting a negative impact on the economic and security situation of the whole region.

Piracy and smuggling are rampant in international commercial sealanes of the Gulf of Aden off southern Yemeni coasts, through which as many as 25,000 ships sail every year and 3 million barrels of oil pass every day.