Shehri, the Saudi doctor captured by a Yemeni gang in Sa'ada, Yemen, was released Monday, said Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Ali Bin Muhamamd Al-Hamdan. Sheikh of Wayla tribes, Muhammad Al-Wayli, said the kidnappers responded to mediation efforts by tribal chiefs in the area and released the 48-year-old director of Al-Salam Hospital in Sa'ada city, a stronghold of Huthi rebels. Three Yemeni army soldiers were also released. The rebels have observed an uneasy truce with the Sana'a government since February. The sheikh said the kidnappers wanted their son released from a Sana'a prison in exchange for releasing the doctor and that he and others will work to free him. “I and other sheikhs are committed to approach the authorities in Sana'a and mediate to have their son released,” he said, noting that the released doctor and soldiers were handed over to the Yemeni government in the Jabal Anban area. The Governor of Sa'da, Taha Hajer, said in phone conversation with Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the kidnapping of visitors is a problem that is hurting Yemen's reputation. “The kidnapping of the Saudi doctor Dhafer Al-Shehri took place while he was returning to Yemen on the Najran-Sa'ada Road in an area called Wadi Aal Abu Ghubarah, 70 kilometers north of Sa'ada,” he said. “The kidnappers were from Aal Obada tribes.” He said authorities surrounded the kidnappers while some sheikhs in the area communicated with them. Al-Wayli, who said authorities are taking measures to prevent and solve kidnappings, noted that a tribal group had kidnapped Colonel Ali Al-Husam, deputy director of Political Security in Sa'ada, months ago and he was found today. Saudi-Yemeni relations are strong in all respects, he added.
