Gunmen abducted the Yemeni President’s chief of staff in downtown Sanaa, the nation’s capital, Saturday morning, Yemeni security officials said.
It was not immediately clear who kidnapped Ahmed bin Mubarak, chief of staff to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
The abduction comes amid rising tensions in the Arabian Peninsula country following the rise of Shiite Houthi rebels. Houthis swept into the capital last year, sparking battles that left more than 300 dead in a month.
Houthis signed a ceasefire deal with the government in September; since then, its members have installed themselves in key positions in the government and financial institutions.
The UK ambassador to Yemen and the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa called for bin Mubarak’s immediate release.
“Very concerned about the kidnapping of Dr Ahmed Bin Mubarak. Few have done more to support the 2011 Revolution and ideals,” Jane Marriott, the British ambassador to Yemen, said on Twitter.
The “Revolution” refers to months of demonstrations and crackdowns that led to civilian deaths in 2011. Toward the end of that year, then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh resigned, and powers were transferred to then-Vice President Hadi.
Hadi, the only candidate on the ballot, was elected President in February 2012.