ADDIS ABABA, March 6 (Reuters) – A rebel group in the
Afar region of Ethiopia said on Tuesday it had released two
German tourists held since January.
The Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unit Front (ARDUF) said in
a statement it had apologised to the two Germans and handed them
over to local elders.
Gunmen killed two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian in
a dawn attack on a group of tourists in the remote Afar region
on Jan. 17, and seized two Germans and two Ethiopians.
The German Foreign Ministry said it could not confirm the
release, adding it did not “want to comment further in the
interest of those involved and in the interest of resolving the
issue”.
The Ethiopian government quickly blamed its neighbour and
arch-foe Eritrea for the deadly attack, saying it had trained
and armed the gunmen.
ARDUF released a statement several days later saying it was
holding the German tourists, but disputed the government’s
version of events.
Hungarian survivors of the attack told how they were woken
by gunshots in their campsite in the shadow of the Erta Ale
volcano before being hauled from their tents and beaten with
clubs.
University researcher Zoltan Winter told a news conference
after returning to Hungary that the gunmen made them line up
with other colleagues and fired shots at them.
Foreigners who venture out into the area usually include
researchers, aid workers and about 500 adventure tourists each
year, visiting geographical wonders such as the Danakil
Depression, with ancient salt mines and volcanoes.
Afar is an arid stretch in Ethiopia’s northeast that is home
to some of the world’s harshest landscape with high temperatures
regularly exceeding 50 degrees Celsius in the summer.
In 2007, gunmen there seized five Europeans and eight
Ethiopians. The Europeans were handed to the Eritrean
authorities less than two weeks later and Britain said Asmara
had helped to secure their release. The eight locals were freed
a few weeks later.
