Sana’a, Yemen: Yemeni security officials say a Dutch couple is believed to have been kidnapped from the capital, Sana’a.
The officials say police received a phone call that prompted them to check on the couple in their apartment. They broke down the door after no one answered and found only the couple’s pet dog.
They say the two have been missing for three days and are believed to be kidnapped.
The officials spoke anonymously in line with regulations.
Daily Al Yemen Al Youm reported that “unknown men kidnapped” the couple, without giving details.
Western sources said the pair were teaching at the Lebanese International University in Sana’a, and that the wife was also a journalist working for a radio station in The Netherlands.
Another source close to the couple spoke of last seeing the woman three days ago, and saying they had probably been kidnapped.
The two had not been seen at the university since Tuesday, some of their students said.
It was not possible to contact the Dutch embassy.
Late last month, two South African nationals were abducted in Yemen’s second largest city of Taez.
Yemen’s president has warned that the Al Qaida branch in the country is expanding and using assassinations and abductions of foreigners as a way to challenge the central government’s authority.
Most kidnappings of foreigners are carried out by members of Yemen’s powerful tribes who use them as bargaining chips in disputes with the central government.
