Saudi diplomat abducted in Yemen

Yemeni tribesmen have kidnapped a Saudi diplomat in the capital Sanaa in an apparent bid to settle a trade dispute involving a Saudi businessman, a tribal source said on Sunday.

Saeed al-Maliki, a Second Secretary at the Saudi embassy, was abducted on Saturday by a member of the Beni Dhabian tribe which took him to a mountain area 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of Sanaa, the source said.

In exchange for the diplomat's release, his captor has demanded five million Saudi riyals ($1.3 million) said to be owed to him by an unidentified Saudi businessman, the source added.

Foreigners have frequently been kidnapped in Yemen by tribes who use the tactic to pressure authorities into making concessions.

More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped over the past 15 years, and most have later been freed unharmed.

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