Sana’a: Yemen police in the northern province of Hajja, near Saudi Arabia, stormed enclosures and freed 89 Africans who were held by human traffickers, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The police raided the area and secured the release of 76 Somalis, seven Nigerians and six Sudanese after arresting five smugglers.
The ministry said that the illegal migrants were tortured by armed men who forced them to contact their relatives in Saudi Arabia to send ransom money.
Haradh, bordering Saudi Arabia, has recently turned into a hotbed for human smuggling to Saudi Arabia.
Late March, Yemeni police freed 21 Ethiopians held in the same area. The migrants were also beaten to force their families to send ransom.
