17th January, 2015
Shiite militiamen in control of Yemen’s capital said they seized President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi’s chief of staff Saturday, a claim confirmed by a senior official.
Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak was abducted by gunmen at a checkpoint in Yemen’s southern Hada district.
A statement by the Shiite Huthi militia said the kidnapping was a measure to prevent a UN-brokered agreement between the presidency and them in September “from being broken.”
The militiamen warned Hadi of “a series of special measures” they are planning to take, adding that he “must not cover up corruption”.
The chief of Yemen’s national security service, General Mohammed al-Ahmadi, told reporters “talks are ongoing to secure his release.”
Mubarak is secretary general of the national dialogue set up to oversee the political transition following the 2012 resignation of veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh after a bloody year-long uprising.
Yemen has been dogged by instability since Saleh’s ouster, with the Huthis and Al-Qaeda seeking to fill the power vacuum.
Mubarak, a southerner, was one of the representatives in the dialogue of the Southern Movement, which seeks autonomy or secession for the formerly independent south.
Hadi named him as prime minister in October, but Mubarak turned down the job following strong opposition from the Huthis and from Saleh’s General People’s Congress party.
The Huthis are widely believed to be backed by Saleh.
The UN Security Council in November slapped sanctions — including a visa ban and asset freeze — on Saleh and two rebel commanders for threatening peace.