According to Saudi media, two Saudi nationals who crossed into Yemen earlier this month for a day trip were abducted by disgruntled tribesmen to be used as leverage for the payment of a debt.
Father and son, Abdullah Ali Solaiman Daghas Hamdi and Hussain Ahmed Hamdi recalled how they travelled across the southern Saudi border through al-Tawwal outpost onto Yemen for a simple picnic, quickly turned nightmarish when armed men abducted them.
The two men explained how once inside Yemen northern territories they travelled across several picturesque areas, keen to taken in the scenery when they were confronted by armed men claiming to be officers with the Yemeni security forces near the town of Haradh.
They were then told that the authorities wanted to have a word with them as allegedly they had been flagged for having committed a crime. When the Saudi nationals demanded to be told what crimes they had been accused of, the armed simply forced into their vehicle, urging them to remain silent.
Both Abdullah and Hussain were taken to a farm, where they met with a man, Saleh, who introduced himself as the group ring leader. It is at that point in time that father and son realised they had been abducted by men posing as security personnel.
Saleh, alleged that since a man from the Hamdis’ village had embezzled some of his money (an estimated $80,000) they would have to find a way to compensate him should they ever hope to be allowed to return home. Since both men refused to partake in any such dealings they were sent to a nearby building where they remain in captivity for six days.
“The kidnappers called our family in Saudi Arabia, asking them to pay the ransom for our release,” Abdullah told the Saudi media. To which Hussain added, “After we were kept for six days in the farm, the kidnappers put us in a car and drove us back to our rest house. From there we lost no time at all to take a car and come back to our home.”
The Saudi nationals were released after a local Saudi sheikh intervened in the matter.