Four French tourists who were held hostage for 15 days in Yemen arrived in Paris on Wednesday and were welcomed by French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.

"We are very tired, we want to rejoin our families," Philippe Lefebre, one of the former hostages said.

"We were well treated, we would like to passionately thank, from the bottom of our hearts, the people who have helped us, we also want a little tranquility," Lefebre, who was in his fifties, said.

The four men were abducted with their Yemeni guide in Ataq in the southeast province of Shabwa on Sept. 10. The armed tribesmen who had kidnapped them sought to press Yemeni authorities to release five of their fellow members from jail.

After negotiations, the kidnappers agreed to free the four French hostages, who were airlifted hours later to the capital Sanaa by a military helicopter on Monday.

Yemen's government, embarrassed by the frequent abduction of foreigners, had vowed to crack down on kidnappers, but have been unable to do so effectively. Foreign hostages are usually freed unharmed after the kidnappers' demands are met.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2006)