Johannesburg - A meeting seeking to secure the safe release of a South African couple kidnapped outside a hotel in Yemen is due to take place on Wednesday, the international relations department said.
“We will receive a report of that meeting as soon as it (the meeting) is concluded. I can't even say at the moment if it is underway,” spokesman Nelson Kgwete said.
South Africa's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sadiq Jaffer, flew to Yemen on Tuesday night. The Saudi Arabian embassy is accredited to Yemen.
The department could not divulge more information about the couple.
“We notified the families of the couple and they asked that we do not disclose information about their relatives to the media.”
The two, a man and a woman, were believed to have been involved in the development of the hotel, in the town of Taiz, from which they were kidnapped.
Previously, French news agency Agence-France Presse quoted an unnamed official as saying the kidnappers came from the Janadiyah area, 35km east of Taiz.
The official told AFP the kidnappers were loyal to a local chief, who was involved in a long-running dispute with authorities about a plot of land, and that it was possible the tourists were being used for bargaining. - Sapa