Gunmen kidnap 2 MSF employees in Yemen

Unknown gunmen kidnapped two foreigners working with the international charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in central Yemen, a security official told Anadolu news agency.

The source, who preferred not to be named, said the MSF employees were kidnapped in Marib governorate, adding that one of them is German and the other is from Myanmar.

“The two employees arrived this morning, Monday, from the city of Seiyun, Hadramout Governorate, to Marib, before they were kidnapped,” the source said.

Marib is under the control of the internationally recognised government.

MSF has confirmed losing contact with the two foreign workers in Yemen, adding that in the interest of their safety, it will not share further details at this time.

No party has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and there was no immediate comment from the Yemeni government.

In March 2022, the organisation announced the kidnapping of two of its employees by tribal gunmen while they were on their way from Hadramout Governorate to Marib, before they were later released in September of the same year.

For nine years, Yemen has been suffering from a war between forces loyal to the internationally recognised government, backed by an Arab military coalition supported by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the Iranian-backed Houthi group, which gained control over the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

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