ADEN, Yemen: Southern militants have set free five people, including a Yemeni government official, hours after they had kidnapped them in the restive town of Habilayn, an official said Thursday. The men who were taken captive Wednesday were released as a result of mediation by tribal chiefs. The northern men were kidnapped in two separate operations. Gunmen from the Southern Movement, which spearheads opposition to the Sana'a government, kidnapped three of them at a checkpoint they set up in Habilayn, in Lahij province, an official said Wednesday. Two others, including an employee in the prime minister's office in Sana'a identified as Taher al-Maliki, were taken hostage by another group of armed men. A communique signed by the Brigades of Arab South Freemen and distributed in Habilayn threatened to escalate kidnappings in retaliation to the arrests of southern militants. On Sunday, gunmen from the Southern Movement abducted an army officer in a bid to secure the release of the group's supporters held by Sana'a and five soldiers seized last week were freed on Saturday. – Agence France
