MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Yemeni national Hamdi Bokari was last seen early Monday in the embattled city Taiz, which is currently contested between forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Houthi opposition. Al Jazeera's Arabic section, for which Bokari had been reporting on the Yemeni conflict, stated that the crew may be held by unknown kidnappers. The reporter had been working the channel since 2006, Al Jazeera said.
"We call on the immediate release of our colleagues Hamdi Al-Bokari, Abdulaziz Al-Sabri and Moneer Al-Sabai. They were covering events in the besieged city of Taiz reporting on the human cost to the conflict. Our colleagues were simply doing their job of reporting the story and informing the world on what is taking place in Yemen," Al Jazeera's acting Director General Mostefa Souag said, quoted on the channel's website.
Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government and the Ansar Allah (Houthi) opposition movement, who have been supported by army units loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Since late March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against Houthi positions at Hadi's request. The siege of Taiz begun mid-April, 2015.
