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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Yemeni tribesmen 'seize Germans' | Yemeni tribesmen 'seize Germans' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Tribesmen in Yemen have kidnapped three Germans, security officials say. | Tribesmen in Yemen have kidnapped three Germans, security officials say. |
| Unnamed officials said the tribesmen had abducted a German aid worker and her visiting parents. | |
| There were conflicting reports about whether the tribesmen were pressing for an end to a land dispute, or for the release of imprisoned clan members. | There were conflicting reports about whether the tribesmen were pressing for an end to a land dispute, or for the release of imprisoned clan members. |
| Foreigners are often seized in Yemen as tribes try to resolve differences with the central government. Most have been released unharmed. | Foreigners are often seized in Yemen as tribes try to resolve differences with the central government. Most have been released unharmed. |
| It was not immediately clear where the three Germans had been abducted. | It was not immediately clear where the three Germans had been abducted. |
| A German foreign ministry spokesman in Berlin confirmed that three Germans were missing, saying: "We must assume based on current information that the three were kidnapped." | |
| Berlin was "working to clarify the situation", he said. | |
| One unnamed Yemeni official said the government had made contact with the tribe that was holding the hostages, Reuters news agency reported. | |
| In May, two Japanese women were seized east of the capital, Sanaa, and held for less than a day by tribesmen pressing for the release of a relative held in government custody. | In May, two Japanese women were seized east of the capital, Sanaa, and held for less than a day by tribesmen pressing for the release of a relative held in government custody. |
| Yemen is a mainly Sunni Muslim country that faces unrest on several fronts: a Shia uprising in the north, disaffection from southerners who lost a civil war in the 1990s, and occasional attacks blamed on al-Qaeda militants. | Yemen is a mainly Sunni Muslim country that faces unrest on several fronts: a Shia uprising in the north, disaffection from southerners who lost a civil war in the 1990s, and occasional attacks blamed on al-Qaeda militants. |