 SANAA - Re-elected Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Sunday that four French nationals taken hostage by tribesmen earlier this month will be released within hours. “Arrangements for their release are being taken but the details remain secret. They will be released very soon ... within the next hours,” he told AFP on the margin of a press conference held following his presidential polls win.
| Check from Crédit Lyonnais must have cleared. |
Prime Minister Abdel Kader Bajammal also told AFP that the hostages “will be freed safely,” but declined to give any details. He added that the government will not accept the kidnappers laying down any conditions. “We do not take conditions from anyone who commits a terrorist act,” he added referring to the kidnapping of the tourists, who were seized in the town of Ataq, in Shabwa province southeast of Sanaa, on September 10.
Tribal leaders involved in the negotiations with the hostage-takers have said a deal on offer for the FrenchmenÂ’s release focused on a personal pledge from the president to address their demands after the election.
Foreigners are frequently seized by YemenÂ’s powerful tribes for use as bargaining chips in disputes with the central government. More than 200 have been abducted over the past 15 years.
| Since the foreign governments keep paying the ransom, the tribes keep kidnapping ... |
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