(Reuters) - Yemeni police
have freed 21 Ethiopian illegal migrants who were tortured by armed men to force
their relatives in Saudi Arabia to send ransom money, the government said on
Thursday.
The group, which included 14
women, were held in a house in Hajja province near the border with Saudi
Arabia, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
"Security forces
stormed the building, arresting three of the kidnappers, including two who were
torturing the Ethiopians with electric cables and iron chains," it said.
"The Ethiopians said
during investigations that their kidnappers wanted to force them to contact
their families who are in Saudi Arabia to send money to secure their
release."
It said the Ethiopians had
been transferred to a U.N. refugee centre ahead of repatriation.
Yemen, which has been in
turmoil over the past year as protesters forced veteran leader Ali Abdullah
Saleh from power, is a destination point for refugees from Horn of Africa
countries although it is one of the world's poorest nations.
Many hope to cross the
porous mountain border with Saudi Arabia, an affluent Gulf oil producer.
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