Ethiopian PM says kidnapped Europeans in the wrong place at the wrong time

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Ethiopia’s prime minister said Monday that officials have a good idea of the whereabouts of five Europeans kidnapped in one of the country’s most remote, inhospitable regions.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi added that he did not believe their captors, who had made no demands, had specifically targeted the five, all of whom worked for or were relatives of employees of the British Embassy in Ethiopia.
The victims were ”at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.
”All I can say at the moment is we have a pretty good idea where these people are,” said in his first comments since the kidnapping 12 days ago.
”We do not have any specific demand from any of the personalities involved,” he added. ”Nobody has so far claimed responsibility. To some extent, that might be a positive thing.”
The three British men, an Anglo-Italian and a French woman were on a tourist trip to the remote Afar region of northeastern Ethiopia when they were taken captive at gunpoint. With them were 13 Ethiopians, five of whom are believed to have escaped or been released.
Their SUVs, which had diplomatic plates, were discovered March 5 riddled with bullet holes and grenade shrapnel in Hamedali. They still contained the victims’ luggage, shoes and cell phones, suggesting robbery was not a motive.
British investigators have examined the vehicles and an embassy official said nobody was believed to have been inside when they were shot up.
Meles refused to detail where the hostages were being held, saying he did not want to jeopardize their safety. ”So far they are safe and well. I expect that they will be kept safe and well,” he said.
The region’s ancient salt mines and volcanoes offer a spectacular, moonlike landscape. Bandits operate in Afar and tourists must have armed guides.
Afar is near the disputed border between Ethiopia and archrival Eritrea, an area littered with land mines from numerous conflicts.
Police believe the group may have been taken by gunmen from the local Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front and marched across the porous Ethiopian border into neighboring Eritrea. Eritrea has denied any involvement.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been strained since Eritrea gained independence from Addis Ababa in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war. The two fought a two-year border war that ended in 2000.