Yemen: Al-Qaida releases abducted UN personnel after 18 months

The safe return of five employees who had been abducted and held for 18 months in Yemen by an al-Qaida affiliate was praised by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to Voice of America (VOA).

Farhan Haq, the secretary-general’s spokesman, told reporters on Friday that Guterres was “profoundly relieved that their ordeal and the anxiety of their families and friends have finally come to an end.” Guterres also urged for the offenders to be held responsible.

The Department of Safety and Security was the employer of all five. According to VOA, they were abducted in February 2022 when they were traveling back to Aden after a field assignment in the southern province of Abyan.

The Omani government was thanked for its assistance, but the United Nations declined to comment on the discussions that resulted in their release. According to VOA, the company also has a policy against paying ransom.

Akm Sufiul Anam, a citizen of Bangladesh, arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday. He told the media present that he never imagined returning home alive.

The remaining four captives were citizens of Yemen. According to VOA, the UN named them Mazen Bawazir, Bakeel Al-Mahdi, Mohammed Al-Mulaiki, and Khaled Mokhtar Sheikh.

According to UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator David Gressly, the four liberated Yemenis are healthy and undamaged.

Gressly said, “I got a chance to chat with them on the way back.

In addition to their positive attitudes, he said, “I am very much impressed by the strength they have displayed under extraordinary circumstances.”

Since November 2021, two other UN employees have been held captive in the Sana’a under Houthi control. On July 21, a World Food Program employee from Jordan was also shot and murdered in southwest Yemen.