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Yemen accused a Shiite rebel group Sunday of kidnapping nine foreigners in the country’s rugged northern Saada province. But the group, which is led by Abdel Malak al-Hawthi, denied any involvement and accused the government of trying to tarnish the rebels’ image.
“This is a new conspiracy by the ruling regime to launch a new war and tarnish the image of the sons of Saada,” the group said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press. The Yemeni Interior Ministry said the foreigners, who it did not identify, were kidnapped while on a picnic in Saada.
The ministry said the group included a German doctor, his wife and their three children, as well as a Briton and his South Korean wife and two other German nationals. The Foreign Ministry in Berlin confirmed that seven Germans are missing in Yemen. The ministry has organized a crisis team to deal with the matter and the German Embassy in Yemen is in contact with local authorities, it said.
The state news agency said the foreigners worked in a hospital in Saada. Tribesmen in Yemen frequently take foreigners hostage to pressure the government on a range of demands and generally release them unharmed. Tribesmen on Friday freed 24 local and foreign medics working at a Saudi-funded hospital in Saada less than 24 hours after their kidnapping, which was not carried out by the al-Hawthi group.
Thousands of people have been killed in Saada since a Shiite rebellion erupted there in June 2004. The rebels say the government is corrupt and too closely allied with the West. The government has charged al-Hawthi with sedition, forming an illegal armed group and inciting anti-American sentiment. The group negotiated a fragile cease-fire with the government last year, but serious tension remains.
Tatiana is the news co-ordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy. She holds a Bachelor degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
