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1st LD Writethru: France confirms abduction of French woman in Yemen

Xinhua, February 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

France's Foreign Ministry confirmed the kidnapping of a French woman working for an international organization in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a on Tuesday morning.

The Quai d'Orsay added all means were exhausted to locate the hostage and to rapidly release her.

"Given the deteriorating security situation in Yemen," the ministry "insistently" called on French nationals to leave the country as soon as possible.

According to the Yemeni interior ministry, gunmen intercepted the vehicle transporting the woman in central Sana'a on Tuesday morning and kidnapped the French expatriate along with her driver.

Earlier this month, France announced the closure of its embassy in Sana'a and evacuated its diplomatic staff due to security concerns after the Shi'ite Houthi group, also known as Ansarullah, based in the far northern province of Saada, took over control of Sana'a last September after deadly clashes with government forces.

Yemen has seen persistent unrest since 2011 when mass protests forced former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, which created a power vacuum that benefits Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the most active terrorist groups in the Middle East. Endit