Ethiopian police say they have identified kidnappers

AFP

March 10, 2007

HOSTILE LAND: A mother and child pass in front of a satellite dish in Berahile, Afar highlands. The kidnapping of five Europeans and eight locals has put the international spotlight on a remote, barren, and searingly hot corner of Ethiopia left behind by modernity. (REUTERS)

ADDIS ABABA -- Ethiopian police said Saturday they had identified the kidnappers of the UK embassy tour group abducted in the remote Ethiopian desert March 1.

"One team [of police investigators] in Afar region found out who kidnapped them, but I do not have the complete information and I cannot tell you more," federal police spokesman Demsash Hailu said.

"We have not yet concluded our investigation. Our team is still working on the case and has not yet concluded its report," he added.

The four Britons and a Frenchwoman, all linked to the UK embassy in Addis Ababa, disappeared in the arid northeast Afar region with their Ethiopian drivers and translators during a tourist trip.

Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said Friday that the hostages were "safe" although still being held by their captors.

"We cannot disclose the place where they are because we believe that this will endanger their safety," the minister said, speaking in the northern town of Mekele.

Mesfin indicated that his government was in contact with third parties to secure the release of the five Europeans.

"The parties that are in communication are indicating to us that they have seen them, that they are in good condition," he said.

The UK government said Friday that it was checking the report that the five are safe -- but urged caution.

"Our line remains that this is an uncorroborated report," said a UK Foreign Office spokeswoman in Addis Ababa, declining to be named.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, speaking on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels, said: "We have had indications that there are people who are saying that the hostages are OK.

"Obviously the issue as to where they are is something that is having to be looked at."

The UK has said local rebel groups in Afar were probably responsible but the Ethiopian state news agency ENA, quoting local elders, said Eritrean soldiers took them some 20 kilometers (15 miles) across the border to a settlement called We'ima.

Asmara has repeatedly denied any connection to the kidnapping, claiming its arch-foe is trying to implicate Eritrea to damage its reputation.

Tourists visit the Afar region mainly to see the Danakil Depression, one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth known for its salt mines and active volcanoes.