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Two aid workers have been killed in war-torn southern Yemen south after they were kidnapped by unknown armed men, the UAE branch of the Red Crescent said on Friday.

In a statement on Twitter, the Emirati Red Crescent said it "expresses its deep regret and condemnation of the loss of Ahmed Fouad al-Yousefi, Coordinator of ERC Operations in Aden, and his fellow Mohamed Tareq... in one of the world's most vulnerable and complex humanitarian zones."

The two were kidnapped in Aden and later found dead, the statement said. 

''Targeting humanitarian workers is a challenge to international treaties and covenants,'' it added.

Such hostile acts obstruct relief operations and delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected people in Yemen, worsening their suffering, the ERC noted.

''We will continue our relief operations and development projects in Yemen regardless of challenges and risks we may face,'' it concluded.

Yemen's principal conflict pits the Iran-backed Houthi rebels against forces loyal to the internationally recognised government, which has been supported since 2015 by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and its allies, including the UAE.

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But the south has been the scene of a separate conflict between government forces and separatists, backed by Abu Dhabi. The two parties signed a power-sharing agreement in Riyadh last November, with little sign of implementation on the ground.

Security forces in the south have also come under repeated attack by both Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Yemen's conflict, and millions displaced, in what the UN has termed the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

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