Abducted Japanese engineer released
- Source: Global Times
- [12:51 November 24 2009]
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A Japanese hostage abducted November 15 by Yemeni tribesmen, was released Monday, announced Numan Duwaid, the governor of Sana'a Governorate in Yemen.
"The hostage has been freed and is now with tribal chiefs who negotiated his release," Numan Duwaid said.
The 63-year-old engineer, Takeo Mashimo, was kidnapped by Zindan tribesmen, according to the Yemen Observer, when he was supervising a school construction project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in an Arab village, some 20 kilometers northeast of Sana'a, the capital of Sana'a Governorate and the Republic of Yemen.
"Thank you very much to the Yemeni government, all the sheikhs and governors who cooperated in the negotiations," said Mashimo after being freed.
Before the release, the captors insisted on swapping Mashimo for Hussein Abdullah Joub, their fellow tribal member, who was imprisoned for alleged Al-Qaida ties by Yemeni authorities.
Yemeni tribes often kidnap foreigners to pressure local authorities. More than 200 foreigners have been captured in the past 15 years, with most being released unharmed.
Yemen, an impoverished nation on the southern tip of Arabian peninsula, ranked 153rd on the Human Development Index, is battling against Shiite rebels and surging Al-Qaida linked attacks. The country is also witnessing a strengthening separatist movement after nearly two decades of unification of the northern and southern regions in 1990.
