..but continues to negotiate with kidnappers. From Reuters:
ADEN, Yemen – Yemen’s president pledged on Sunday to eradicate kidnappings in his country, a day after five German hostages were freed by tribesmen who held them captive for three days.
Armed tribal groups in Yemen, where central government control is often weak, seize tourists frequently, but they are usually freed unharmed after negotiations.
Tribesmen kidnapped former German government minister and hostage negotiator Juergen Chrobog, his wife and three children on Wednesday to press the government to release fellow tribesmen jailed for murder and other crimes…
Chrobog and his family were handed over to Yemeni officials on Saturday and flew from the eastern Shabwa province to Aden after Yemen’s defence minister led talks to secure their release. The tribesmen are being detained and questioned…
Chrobog, 65, was Germany’s ambassador to the United States from 1995 to 2001. In 2003, as a deputy foreign minister, he was the top diplomat dealing with Europeans abducted in the Sahara desert and was able to secure the release of 14 hostages, including nine Germans…