ADEN \u2013 February 13 (ONLINE): Five United Nations employees have been abducted by unknown armed men in southern Yemen while returning to Aden after a field mission.<\/p>\n
The staff was abducted on Friday in the Abyan governorate, according to Russell Geekie, a spokesman for the top UN official in Yemen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United Nations is in close contact with the authorities to secure their release,\u201d Geekie said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric declined to answer questions on the matter at a press conference, saying \u201cwe are aware of this case but, for obvious reasons, we are not commenting\u201d.<\/p>\n
An official at the UN office in Aden told Reuters news agency and the Associated Press that four of those abducted were Yemeni nationals.<\/p>\n
Yemen\u2019s internationally recognised government, which is based in south Yemen, told state media on Saturday it was working to safely free the workers with the UN Department of Security.<\/p>\n
The secessionist Southern Transitional Council, which controls much of Yemen\u2019s south and is at odds with the Yemeni government, condemned the abductions as a \u201cterrorist operation\u201d, according to AP.<\/p>\n
Abductions are frequent in Yemen, where armed tribesmen and al-Qaeda-linked armed fighters take hostages to swap for prisoners or cash.<\/p>\n
Yemen has been mired in violence since the Iran-aligned Houthi movement overthrew the government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014, prompting a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia to intervene months later.<\/p>\n
Among Yemen\u2019s many factions, al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) armed group have, in the past, carried out attacks including in the south, which last year saw protests over deteriorating economic conditions.<\/p>\n
The war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a dire humanitarian crisis, with 80 percent of Yemen\u2019s population reliant on aid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ADEN \u2013 February 13 (ONLINE): Five United Nations employees have been abducted by unknown armed men in southern Yemen while returning to Aden after a field mission. The staff was abducted on Friday in the Abyan governorate, according to Russell Geekie, a spokesman for the […]<\/p>\n
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