SANAA: Armed tribesmen kidnapped three Germans in western Yemen yesterday to press for the release of relatives detained by police, senior government officials said.
Armed men from the Al-Kumaim clan of the powerful Bani Dhabian tribe abducted the three in the historic city of Rada’a, some 130 km south of Sanaa, an official said.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the hostages were a woman staffer of the German Technical Cooperation GTZ and her parents who were spending a vacation with her.
Police closed off a mountainous area, where the hostages are believed to be held as tribal elders began contacts with the kidnappers to secure the hostage’s release.
The source said the kidnappers demanded the release of three fellow clansmen from the police custody. The men were detained two months ago, he said.
A source at the German Embassy said the embassy was in contact with dignitaries involved in the negotiations with the abductors.
Disgruntled tribesmen from impoverished areas of Yemen often take hostages to use as bargaining chips to press the government for aid, jobs or the release of detained fellow clansmen.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Yemen since 1991. Almost all were released unharmed after mediation involving tribal leaders.
The latest abduction took place on Sept. 19 when armed tribesmen took two Colombian engineers hostage for three days in southern Yemen and demanded the release of a fellow clansman detained by police in connection with criminal offenses.
On Aug. 12, tribesmen abducted a French engineer of Algerian origin and held him hostage for one day.
A group of armed tribesmen abducted two Japanese women tourists in May and held them for several hours in the north-central city of Maarib.
In 1998, a militant group kidnapped 16 Western tourists, four of whom died in a botched rescue attempt by police forces, and in 2000, a Norwegian diplomat was killed in a similar rescue attempt.
