Yemeni tribesmen freed yesterday four French tourists after holding them for more than two weeks in captivity in southeastern Yemen, officials said. The four were brought to the capital Sanaa by military helicopter where they were to travel to the residence of the French ambassador, according to parliamentarian Awad ibn Al-Wazir, chief negotiator of the mediation team that secured their release.Al-Wazir, a tribal notable who has in the past been involved in mediating the release of Western hostages, said earlier that he had seen the French tourists after they were released.
A security official confirmed the Frenchmen had arrived in the Yemeni capital. "The four French (tourists) have arrived by helicopter at the military base" next to the city's airport, the official said.
In France, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy extended his "very sincere gratitude" to Yemen's President Ali Abdallah Saleh for his "personal involvement" in the liberation of the four French tourists.