Norway Says U.N. Worker Kidnapped in Yemen Released

A Norwegian U.N. employee kidnapped in Yemen earlier this month by members of a tribe in the restive Marib province has been freed following negotiations, the Norwegian government said Friday.

"I am very pleased and relieved that the Norwegian who was kidnapped in Yemen has been released and that he is unharmed," Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement.

The 34-year-old man, whose name was not given, was abducted off the street in Sanaa nearly two weeks ago by armed men aiming to put pressure on the Yemeni government to release members of their tribe being held for among other things killing four soldiers.

His abductors had taken him to the Marib province, east of the capital, where their tribe is based.

The conditions of the Norwegian man's release were not revealed.

"In light of the circumstances, (the former hostage) is doing well. He has been treated relatively well," foreign ministry spokesman Frode Overland Andersen told Agence France Presse.

The man is "safe" in Sanaa and will fly home to Norway as soon as possible, he said, adding that further questions on his release should be directed to the United Nations which headed the negotiations that led to his release.

In his statement, Stoere said: "I would like to thank the Yemeni authorities for the determination they have shown in negotiating the Norwegian's release.

"I also greatly appreciate the close cooperation we have had with the U.N., both in Sanaa and in New York."

Tribes in Yemen often kidnap foreigners to put pressure on the authorities. More than 200 foreigners have been abducted over the past 15 years, with almost all later freed unharmed.