SANAA, 7 January 2006 — Five Italian tourists held hostage by tribesmen in northeastern Yemen were freed yesterday unharmed and arrived in the capital Sanaa after tribal mediators promised that the authorities will look into demands for the release of eight clansmen, a senior government official told Arab News.
In Rome, Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini expressed his “most sincere gratitude” to his Yemeni counterpart “for the efficient handling of the affair.”
The Yemeni official said the five Italians, three women and two men, were handed over to tribal dignitaries who brokered a deal with the kidnappers without the intervention of the anti-terror squads besieging the area.
“They were released unharmed after an agreement with the abductors,” said the official who asked anonymity.
Yemeni officials refused to give details of the deal for the hostages’ release.
Yemeni troops on Thursday began a manhunt for tribesmen holding the five Italian tourists hostage in a mountain village in northeast Yemen, as a tight siege continued for the forth day.
The kidnappers, who belong to Al-Zaidi clan, agreed to give themselves up to authorities yesterday and were arrested.
The freed Italians were later airlifted to Sanaa by two military helicopters, the Deputy Governor of Marib, Adnan Sinan Abu-Luhoum, told Arab News. They were accompanied by Brig. Gen. Ali Muhammad Salah, the army deputy chief of staff, who headed the government team that negotiated with the kidnappers.
The six kidnappers were also transferred by helicopter to Sanaa, Abu-Luhoum said.
