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UN officials say they are in close contact with the authorities in Yemen to secure the safe release of their staffers.
Five United Nations staff
have been abducted in southern Yemen while returning to Aden
after a field mission.
The staff were abducted on Friday in Abyan governorate,
Russell Geekie, a spokesperson for the top UN official in Yemen, said on Sunday.
“The United Nations is in close contact with
the authorities to secure their release,” Geekie said.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is
based in south Yemen, was working to safely free the UN staff
abducted by unknown gunmen, the official news agency on Saturday
cited a cabinet statement as saying.
An official at the UN office in Aden told Reuters that
four of those seized were Yemeni nationals.
READ MORE:
Fighting eases in Yemen’s Marib as Saudi-led forces consolidate
Destabilising forces
Yemen has been mired in violence since the Iran-aligned
Houthi movement ousted the government from the capital, Sanaa,
in late 2014, prompting a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia
to intervene months later.
Among Yemen’s many destabilising forces are terrorist groups Al Qaeda and Daesh that have in the past
carried out attacks including in the south, which last year saw
protests over deteriorating economic conditions.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a dire humanitarian crisis with 80 percent of Yemen’s population reliant on aid.
READ MORE: Where is Yemen’s conflict(s) headed?
READ MORE: Death toll from air strike on Yemeni detention centre mounts
Source: Reuters
Unknown gunmen kidnap UN staff members in southern Yemen
Source: Pinay Pop Showbiz
