Somali Pirates Hijack: Why Does This Keep on Happening?

On Feb. 24, the Danish Naval Command received a distress signal from a vessel in the Indian Ocean. Not long thereafter, Danish officials confirmed that the yacht of a Danish family had been hijacked by Somali pirates. The crew of seven, including three teenagers, their parents and the ship's deckhands are now all captive. "It's almost unbearable to know that children are involved, and I vigorously condemn the pirates," said Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen. But her government has so far rejected the idea of negotiating a ransom.

The episode follows swift on the heels of the grim murder of four Americans after the pirates who had seized their yacht were cornered by U.S. naval forces. As TIME contributor Nicholas Wadhams wrote last week, the hijackings come at a moment