ICRC staff abducted in Yemen's capital

A Tunisian national who worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yemen's capital of Sanaa was abducted on Tuesday, a statement said.

"Gunmen abducted two ICRC staff members on their way to work on Tuesday morning in Sanaa. One of them was released unharmed a few hours later. The second colleague is a Tunisian national; she is still being held," according to the statement which is obtained by Xinhua.

"We do not know who is behind this abduction, but I appeal to those responsible to release our colleague as soon as possible," Antoine Grand, the ICRC head of delegation in Yemen, was quoted as saying.

"We are in Yemen to provide humanitarian help to people. Actions like this, against humanitarian workers, only make it more difficult for us to provide the assistance the people so desperately need," the statement said.

The ICRC has halted all field movements in Yemen for the time being.

Foreigners were frequently abducted in Yemen, an impoverished country that has seen turmoil since the 2011 political upheaval which created huge power vacuum.

Militant groups kidnapped foreigners to ask for ransoms. But it is rare that aid group staff are kidnapped.

Security in the country deteriorated since March when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

More than 6,000 people have been killed in ground battles and air strikes since then, half of them civilians.

In September, two ICRC staff members were shot dead while traveling in a convoy between the northern province of Saada and Sanaa. Endit