UN welcomes release of its five abducted staff, including Bangladeshi

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the release of five United Nations security staff, including a Bangladeshi citizen, who were kidnapped in Yemen by al Qaeda militants 18 months ago.

UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen David Gressly said Antonio Guterres welcomed the release and described the kidnapping as an inhumane and unjustifiable crime, reports Reuters.

The UN secretary-general also called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

David Gressly said the staff, four from Yemen and one from Bangladesh, were in "very good health and good spirits, despite everything that they went through.

"But they went through a very difficult period of 18 months of isolation," he added.

The UN staff were kidnapped in Yemen's southern region of Abyan on February 11 in 2022. Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has used a conflict between a Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-aligned Houthis to enhance its influence.

Gressly warned that AQAP was an "increasing threat."

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthi group ousted the government from the capital Sanaa in late 2014. The Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in 2015, aiming to restore the government.

Peace initiatives have seen increased momentum since Riyadh and Tehran in March agreed to restore diplomatic ties severed in 2016.

Bangladeshi citizen AKM Sufiul Anam was among the five abducted UN staff.

Local newspapers said AKM Sufiul Anam retired from the Bangladesh Army in 2005. Since then, he had been working with the UN. He was the Field Security Coordination Officer (Head) of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security in Aden.

Sufiul Anam returned to Bangladesh from Yemen on August 9 this year after release from 18-month-long captivity.