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Aden: Yemen's loyalist militia on Friday accused rebels of responsibility for the kidnapping of two Al-Jazeera journalists and their driver who went missing in the flashpoint central city of Taez.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Hamdi al-Bokari, his colleague Abdulaziz al-Sabri and driver Munir al-Subaie have been missing since Monday night.
The Doha-based news channel has said Bokari, who was covering the conflict between rebels and forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, had apparently been kidnapped.
The Popular Resistance militia charged that Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies were behind the kidnapping of the three men.
Their car was found abandoned near the central Hurriya square, an area under the control of loyalists, it said.
The city of Taez is held by loyalists of Yemen's internationally recognised government, but it has been besieged by Iran-backed rebels for months.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday called for the immediate release of Bokari and his companions.
"Security in Yemen has rapidly deteriorated in the past year, making it one of the most dangerous places in the world to work as a journalist," said CPJ's Sherif Mansour.
"We call on all parties to cease targeting journalists and to free immediately all members of the media that they are holding," he said.
The Huthis overran Sanaa more than a year ago, forcing Hadi's government to flee the capital for second city Aden and then to Riyadh.
Hadi loyalists backed by a Saudi-led coalition have fought back and for weeks been trying to retake Taez province and pave the way towards the rebel-held capital.
AFP
