SANA'A: Sylvia Ibrahard, a Swiss national, was kidnapped by al-Qaeda militants in the western city of Hodeida in March and transported to the province of Mareb, one of the group' strongholds. The 35 year-old woman was teaching English at a language institute when she was targeted by the terror group. Ever since 2011, when Yemenis rose up against then president Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, armed militias such as Ansar al-Sharia, an offshoot of al-Qaeda in the region, used the power vacuum to promote their own agenda, seizing swathes of territories in Yemen's southern provinces and waging war on the country's armed forces. Wanting to use foreigners as bargaining chip against the Yemeni central government and to some extent Saudi Arabia, since many of its militants are currently languishing in Saudi jails, al-Qaeda has conducted a series of kidnappings throughout the country. In a desperate bid for help, Sylvia sent her appeal through a video posted on YouTube, calling on her government to cooperate with her abductors to free her. In the footage, Sylvia said she had been so far treated humanely. The Yemeni government, which is still trying to accurately assess where the Swiss woman is being held, reported that sources said she had been moved to Shabwa, yet another province under the Islamists control. A local sheikh, who is sitting in on the mediation committee set up for the release of Ibrahard, revealed that he was still confident that he would arrange for her imminent release.
