Search grows in Yemen for French woman, guide

Efforts intensify to find a French woman and her Yemeni interpreter kidnapped in crisis-hit Yemen, with relatives reaching out to tribal chiefs and Shiite militiamen in control of the capital.

Unidentified gunmen seized 30-year-old Isabelle Prime — a consultant working on a World Bank-funded project — and her interpreter Sherine Makkaoui from a car in Sanaa on Tuesday.

Their abduction has sparked a widening search, and prompted calls by France for its nationals to avoid the impoverished Gulf nation following months of unrest.

A Shiite Houthi rebel threatens Yemeni protesters during a rally against the control of the capital by Houthi rebels on January 24, 2015 in the capital Sanaa. (Photo credit: AFP / MOHAMMED HUWAIS)

“We contacted various tribal leaders in Sanaa and in the provinces of Jawf and Marib to ensure their cooperation for the release of the two women,” Yassine Makkaoui, the uncle of the Yemeni abductee, tells AFP.

“We have also contacted, for the same reason, the interior ministry and the Houthis,” he adds, referring to the Shiite militia that has seized power in the capital.

— AFP