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Eritreans accused of kidnapping five Britons in Ethiopia

Ethiopian officials accused Eritrean forces of kidnapping five British citizens and 13 Ethiopians who were touring a remote region near the African countries' long-disputed border, then taking the group to a military camp in Eritrea.

The claims made on Saturday could not be independently verified. The group went missing on Thursday while traveling in Ethiopia's Afar region, a barren expanse of ancient salt mines and volcanoes 800km northeast of the capital, Addis Ababa. Calls to Eritrea's government spokesman rang unanswered on Saturday.

Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been consistently strained since Eritrea gained independence from the Addis Ababa government in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war. Communications to Afar are extremely difficult, but the otherworldly, moon-like landscape draws adventure travelers.

The BBC, quoting unidentified government sources, said there was a "national security dimension" to the disappearance of the Britons, all of whom are employees of the British Embassy in Addis Ababa or their relatives. The British Foreign Office and the British Defense Ministry would not comment on the BBC report.

Esmal Ali Sero, head of the Afar administrative region, said about 25 Eritrean "commandoes" kidnapped the British citizens along with their Ethiopian drivers and translators on Thursday night. He cited local investigators.

But a senior Ethiopian official in the ruling party, who asked not to be named, also said Eritreans were behind the kidnapping. He said a herder saw the British group at the Ara-ta military camp in Eritrea and reported it to the Ethiopians. Herders frequently travel between the two countries.

Tour operators in the area also said they were being told by police that Eritreans in military uniforms kidnapped the Britons and burned down the house where they were staying, along with several vehicles.

A spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Addis Ababa, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said she had no information on the kidnappers: "We do not know where they are or who is holding them. We are not prepared to speculate."

Also on Saturday, the head of an Afar tour agency said the driver of seven missing French tourists had called his company to say everyone was "safe and well" and had not been kidnapped.

"They were not kidnapped but they heard there had been some trouble so they avoided the area. That is why we thought they had been kidnapped, because we had lost contact altogether," said Samson Teshome, head of the Origins Ethiopia tour group.

He said it was unclear where the tourists had been since Thursday.
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