Yemenis holding Dutch couple hostage...

Hey, they are just guests.....

Yemeni tribesmen holding a Dutch couple offered on Wednesday to trade their captives for security chiefs and soldiers who allegedly attacked them last year, giving assurances the hostages were safe.

"They are our guests. They are provided with food and are comfortable," tribal chief Ali Nasser al-Siraji told AFP by telephone, referring to the couple kidnapped on Tuesday as they drove through a southern suburb of Sanaa.

Siraji said the kidnapping was in retaliation for an April 2008 attack at a security checkpoint as his car convoy travelled between Sanaa and the eastern town of Marib, wounding six of his companions.

"We will not release the hostages until we are handed the perpetrators," Siraji said.

He named the "head of security in the province of Marib, Mohammed al-Ghadra, and Mohammed Omar, the head of central security in Marib, in addition to the soldiers who fired."

They had opened fire "without any justification," Siraji said, adding that he had tried to file formal charges but failed because of a "lack of cooperation from the public prosecution."

Tourism Minister Nabil al-Faqih said earlier he had spoken during the night by telephone to the hostages.

"The hostages said they are fine and being treated well," the Yemeni minister told AFP. "They hope that the problem with the kidnappers will be sorted soon."