German minister Westerwelle in surprise Yemen visit
January 11, 2010
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has made a surprise visit to Yemen, where five German nationals have been held hostage for six months.
He raised the issue during talks with President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa.
Five Germans, including three children, and a Briton were seized in northern Yemen while picnicking in June.
Mr Westerwelle is the first Western minister to visit Yemen since a local al-Qaeda branch said they tried to bomb a US airliner over Detroit in December.
Last week, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - the Nigerian man accused of attempting to detonate a bomb on the Amsterdam-Detroit flight on Christmas Day - was charged with the attempted murder of 290 people and five other counts.
The plane landed safely after passengers and crew overpowered him.
Hostages ‘alive’
Mr Westerwelle said President Saleh had told him during their meeting he had information about the location of the German hostages, according to the AFP news agency.
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YEMEN HOSTAGE CRISIS
 12 June 09 - seven Germans, including three children, Briton and South Korean seized in Saada
all adult hostages worked at local hospital
two Germans and South Korean named as Eom Young-Sun are killed shortly afterwards
six remaining hostages presumed dead by German officials
7 Jan 10 - Yemeni Deputy PM Rashad al-Alimi says six hostages are alive
10 Jan 10 - German FM Guido Westerwelle says Yemen knows where hostages are held
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Last week, Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister Rashad al-Alimi said the six hostages were still alive.
The hostages were seized while picnicking in the northern Saada region. The kidnapped adults all worked at a local hospital.
Two German nurses and a South Korean aid worker - who were part of the group - were found dead later in June.
The Yemeni government has blamed a local Shia rebel group, led by Abdulmalik al-Houthi, for the kidnapping, but it has denied any involvement.
The group has fought a sporadic insurgency in the Zaidi Shia heartland between Sanaa and the border with Saudi Arabia.
A local tribal leader in the area, speaking anonymously to the Associated Press news agency, has blamed al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda is known to have operated in the area, and analysts say it may be regrouping in Yemen after coming under pressure in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
More than 200 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Yemen in the last 15 years, often for ransom. But most have been released unharmed.
Source: thedailystar.net
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