Several Italians have been abducted by tribesmen in Yemen, the day after a group of German hostages was freed. In both cases, the kidnappers have been acting to put pressure on Yemeniauthorities to release fellow tribe members being held in custody. In the latest incident, five Italians were said to have been seized in a province, east of the capital Sanaa. Three of them, all women, were later released, according to reports, while two men remain in the hands of their captors.

All were apparently abducted after the vehicle they were in was stopped. It comes as the recently liberated German captives were received at Yemen’s presidential palace. Juergen Chrobog, an ex-German government minister, his wife and their three sons were held for a number of days. They have headed home from Yemen after the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salehpledged to eradicate kidnappings in his country.

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