SANA'A: The Saudi foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday that Abdullah al-Khalidi, the Saudi deputy consul posted in Aden, the former capital of South Yemen, had been kidnapped by armed men as he was leaving his residence for the consulate. The diplomat's residence is situated in the district of Mansura a popular neighborhood of Aden which for the past few months saw many demonstrations and armed clashes between the government forces and the alleged secessionist militants. An official from Yemen's Central Security forces revealed to Bikyamasr.com that al-Khalidi had been taken to an unknown location, adding that so far nothing led to believe he had been harm in any way. “We have already set up a search party and our intelligence services are looking into the matter as we take security threats against foreign diplomats extremely seriously,” said the officer. The Saudi embassy in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, is now liaising with the authorities in Aden, determined how to assist the investigation in every way possible as they seek to recover the diplomat. Workers at the Saudi Consulate informed Bikyamasr.com under cover of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press that the matter could actually be a personal act of revenge against the diplomat as rumor had it he had quarreled with a local family over a marriage dispute with a young girl. Local residents also said that he had several outbursts with individuals and that he over the past months he had been targeted by militants, recalling that on one instance a grenade had been hurled at his house. The kidnappers have so far made no claim against al-Khalidi's release nor did a specific group claim responsibility. Ever since the beginning of the popular uprising last year which led to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure from the presidency a breakdown in security led to an acute increase in violent crimes and kidnapping with often groups or even individuals using it as a way to pressure the government into fulfilling their requests. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Jybi6 Tags: Aden, featured, Kidnapping, Saudi, Yemen Section: Gulf, Latest News, Saudi Arabia, Yemen
