ADEN: Gunmen in Yemen have kidnapped two foreign employees of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in eastern Hadra­mout governorate, a security source and two other local sources said.

The medical charity told Reuters that it had lost contact with some of its staff in Yemen and that it could not share more details at this time out of concern for their safety.

The security source said the employees were a German and a Mexican and were taken from their car by gunmen that security forces believed to be linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Militant groups are among many destabilising forces in war-torn Yemen which is grappling with a humanitarian crisis.

In February, five United Nations staff, including four Yemenis, were abducted in Abyan governorate by gunmen also believed to be linked to Al Qaeda.

The militant group operates in south and eastern regions of Yemen, which has been divided by a seven-year war between the Saudi-backed government based in the south and Iran-aligned Houthi movement in the north.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2022