(RTTNews) - Yemeni tribesmen have finally released a Japanese engineer kidnapped last week, media reports quoting Yemeni officials and tribal leaders indicated Monday.

"The hostage has been freed and is now with tribal chiefs who negotiated his release," local news agencies quoted Numan Duid, the Governor of Sanaa province, as saying on Monday.

Armed tribesmen had kidnapped Takeo Mashimo on 15th November, when he was visiting a school construction site in Arhab district, some 20 kilometers north-east of Sanaa. The kidnappers had demanded the release of one of their imprisoned members in exchange for freeing the kidnapped Japanese engineer.

Last week, the tribesmen had agreed to hand over the Japanese engineer to the tribal leaders after mediators promised to take the responsibility of securing the release of the imprisoned tribal member. They, however, called off the deal after a last-minute dispute with mediators.

Tribesmen in Yemen often resort to kidnapping foreign nationals for ransom or wresting concessions from the government. The captives are usually released unharmed after their abductors receive the demanded ransom or concessions from the Yemeni government.
Yemen, an impoverished nation located on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, is currently battling a Shiite revolt in the north, a strengthening separatist movement in the south, and a recently intensified al-Qaeda militancy across the country.

The Shiite rebels, known as Huthis after their late commander Hussein Badr Eddin al-Huthi, operate from their stronghold in Saada in the far northern mountains. The Huthis are in rebellion in northern Yemen to restore the Zaidi imamate that was overthrown in a coup in 1962.

Currently, the Yemeni security forces are engaged in a massive offensive against the Huthis. In August this year, the Sunni-dominated Yemeni government launched an offensive against the Shiite rebels in the north, aiming to crush the nearly 5-year-old rebel movement with an "iron fist."

The UN estimates that the recent fighting, which broke out on August 11 between the Yemeni security forces and the Shiite rebels, has forced more than 55,000 people to flee the region. According to the UN, persistent fighting in and around the northern town of Saada has displaced over 150,000 people since 2004.

In addition to the Shiite rebels, Yemen is facing a strengthening separatist movement in its southern region, where many complain of discrimination. The separatist movement gained momentum a couple of years ago, when former southern military officials demanded higher pension payments after being forced into compulsory retirement.

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