Norwegian kidnapped in Yemen

15th January 2012

A gang has abducted a 34-year-old Norwegian man in the Yemen capital of Sana, local media report.

The kidnapping may have been the responsibility of a tribe called Hariq Akdam who wants one of their members released.

“I do not know where and when this happened, we are working on getting more details. It’s the United Nations are dealing with the kidnapping,” Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Frode Overland Andersen said to NRK, Sunday.

The man works for the UN’s Development Programme, and the UN reported his kidnapping.

His abductors were in phone contact with the UN’s offices in Yemen on Sunday morning. An anomymous source told AFP the man has been taken to Marib in the east of the country.

“The Foreign Ministry is prepare to assist the United Nations if they need it. We are in close contact with the United Nations in the further handling of the case,” added Mr Andersen.