Armed men abduct five members of the United Nations mission in Yemen's southern provinces.

According to a UN official, the organization is seeking to secure the release of the staff members who were taken on Friday in the Abyan governorate.

Five United Nations officials were kidnapped by unidentified armed men in southern Yemen as they returned to Aden following a field operation, according to reports.

According to Russell Geekie, a spokesperson for the senior United Nations official in Yemen, the crew was kidnapped on Friday in the Abyan governorate of the country.

According to Geekie, the United Nations is in constant communication with the authorities in order to arrange their release, which occurred on Saturday.

At a news conference, UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric refused to address questions about the issue, stating that "we are aware of this instance but, for obvious reasons, we will not comment."


According to the Reuters news agency and the Associated Press, a UN spokesman at the UN headquarters in Aden confirmed that four of those taken were Yemeni citizens.

State media said on Saturday that Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is located in the country's southern region, was trying to ensure the safe release of the UN Department of Security staff.

The abductions were described as a "terrorist operation" by the separatist Southern Transitional Council, which controls part of Yemen's southern region and is at conflict with the Yemeni government, according to the Associated Press.

Armed tribesmen and al-Qaeda-linked armed militants kidnap and sell hostages in Yemen, where they are exchanged for detainees or cash in exchange for their services.

Several months after the Houthi movement, which is linked with Iran, ousted the government in the capital, Sanaa, a military coalition headed by Saudi Arabia intervened, causing the United Nations to declare Yemen a humanitarian crisis in December 2014.

The al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) armed groups have carried out assaults in Yemen's past, particularly in the country's southern region, which was the scene of demonstrations last year over worsening economic circumstances.

Tens of thousands of people have died as a result of the conflict in Yemen, which has also triggered a severe humanitarian catastrophe, with 80 percent of the country's population depending on humanitarian assistance.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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