Security officials announced today to the press that a Uzbekistan doctor had been kidnapped by Mared tribesmen from the northeastern Oil rich country's province, as he was traveling back to the capital, Sana'a.

The Interior Ministry informed the Yemen Post under cover of anonymity that the doctor had been abducted by al-Awamirah tribe in the Mareb province, adding that the tribesmen were planning to use him as a bargain chip in their attempt to have several of their men freed by the Yemen government.
An official in Mareb said: "They took him [doctor] to an unknown remote place in Mareb, demanding the Yemeni government release one of their clans named Saleh Rashid who was arrested three months ago over criminal cases, " the official added.

Many security analysts in and outside Yemen have raised the alarm over the past few months as they say the country is sinking further into chaos and lawlessness. In the course of a few months several foreigners have been kidnapped by tribes in different part of the country, traded against money or prisoners. In May, 3 French aid-workers were abducted in Sayyun in the eastern province of Hadramaut, with their kidnappers demanding a US$ 20 million ransom and the release of several alleged al-Qaeda militants.

And since the government has been unable so far to re-establish orders in the provinces, Yemen's tribes will continue to follow their own rule, serving only their interests and no that of the community as a whole.

Although there was no official statement made to that regard, several sources have confirmed that the doctor was unharmed.