Six crew members of a Yemeni military plane were kidnapped Sunday after the plane made an emergency landing in the eastern part of the country, according to Agence France Presse.
"Contacts are underway with the gunmen to secure the release of the crew and allow the army to repair the aircraft and return it to Sanaa," a military official source told AFP.
The aircraft was carrying supplies from Sanaa to the Masila oilfields when it made its emergency landing due to a technical glitch. The aircraft landed in the Hadramawt province and the crew was immediately abducted by armed tribesman according to local government officials.
Tribesman in the area have previously blocked roads and blown up pipelines and related supply routes in protest against a recent killing of one of their main leaders, tribal chief Said Ben Habrish. Supporters of Habrish have "vowed to avenge him" vis-a-vis preventing officials from the capital from repairing a pipeline that links the Masila oilfield to the Al Daba port located on the Gulf of Aden. In recent weeks, a military convoy guarding technicians tasked to repair a pipeline in the region was ambushed by tribesmen, leaving four soldiers dead and wounding others.
