French tourists dismiss reports of being kidnapped in Ethiopia

March 4, 2007 (MEKELE) — A team of seven foreign tourists arrived in Mekele in northern Ethiopia city on Sunday, having successfully concluded their trip to the Dalol area in the Afar Regional State in eastern Ethiopia. The team leader, a Frenchman, and the tour operator have said the media reports that the tourists were abducted were all untrue.

The team leader, Patrick Dudefcu, told our reporter in Mekele that his seven-member team had encountered no problem all through their tours to the attractions in the Tigray and Afar regional states and back to Mekele, which was conducted according to the programme they had set out on.

The manager of the Oranges Ethiopia, the travel operator, Selam Ali, also said the tourists his agency was guiding on their Tigray and Afar visits were all back to Mekele from their trip in Afar. The team composed of four French, two Monaco and one Swiss tourists continue their tours to the ancient monasteries in the Tigray Regional State, Selam said.

Selam said another tourists team, including French nationals are conducting their tours as planned, according to which they spend the night on Sunday in the town of Mile in Afar Regional State, according to the manager of the travel agency.

Selam said the reports by the VOA and Duetche Welle Amharic Service that the French tourists were abducted by armed men at an area called Hamedila were baseless.

(ST)