Five Hostages Freed in Yemen
Kidnappers in Yemen have freed three International Red Cross employees, including a Swiss and a Kenyan, along with two Egyptian hostages, following tribal mediation, a local official said Thursday.
"We have managed to obtain the release of the five hostages kidnapped by the Al-Marakisha tribe," who released them overnight Wednesday, said Abdellatif Sayed, a local commander with the military-linked Popular Resistance Committees.
The Kenyan and Swiss hostages were seized on Monday with their Yemeni interpreter in the southern city of Jaar, which was held by loyalists of al-Qaida for 12 months until it was recaptured by the army in June last year.
A week earlier members of the same Al-Marakisha tribe kidnapped two Egyptian technicians working at a cement factory in southern Yemen.
The hostage-takers called for the release of a fellow tribesman being held by the Yemeni authorities.
Sayed said all five hostages had been handed over by their kidnappers and that he had promise to put their demand to the highest authorities in Sanaa.
Hundreds of people have been abducted in Yemen over the past 15 years, almost all of who have been freed unharmed.
Most kidnappings of foreigners are carried out by members of Yemen's powerful tribes who use them as bargaining chips in disputes with the central government.
Source: Agence France Presse
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