 Two foreign tourists, believed to be Austrians, have been kidnapped while visiting a tourist site in the northern Yemeni province of Marib, local officials and police say. The local officials in Marib said tribal gunmen on Wednesday kidnapped the two Austrian tourists and probably took them to an area called Abeda.
Oh Jason, Melbourne is such a bore with all those Leb tough boys hanging around. Let's go somewhere safer."
"I know just the thing, ducks, we're off to the beaches of Marib!" |
Tribesmen kidnap Westerners from time to time in Yemen, often to try to force concessions from the government. The hostages are usually released unharmed, but several were killed in 2000 when security forces carried out a raid to force their release. The police officials said the kidnappers were from the Abeda tribe and that government forces had been sent to the area. Tribal members in Marib, contacted by telephone from San'a, said the kidnappers had demanded the release from detention of two men from the Abeda tribe, but did not say on what charges the two were detained. |