Asia-Pacific News
Yemeni tribesmen kidnap Japanese engineer near capital Sana'a
Nov 16, 2009, 16:07 GMT
Sana'a, Yemen - Tribesmen, seeking the release of a jailed relative, kidnapped a Japanese engineer near the capital Sana'a on Monday, police sources said.
The sources said the engineer was visiting a school construction site in Arhab district, around 20 kilometres north-east of Sana'a when armed tribesmen took him.
The project is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), for which the engineer works.
An official at the Japanese embassy in Sana'a confirmed the kidnapping and said that mediators were negotiating with the abductors to set the hostage free.
'Negotiations started to release the man, and we hope he will be freed soon,' the official, who asked not to be identified, told the German Press Agency dpa.
Yemeni tribesmen often resort to kidnapping foreigners to press authorities to release detained relatives.
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