8 Kidnapped Ethiopians released unharmed

April 22, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Eight Ethiopians held hostage for 52 days after they were kidnapped along with five European tourists have been released unharmed, government officials said Sunday.

Thirteen Ethiopians were seized at gunpoint along with the five Europeans on March 1 while on a sightseeing tour in northeastern Ethiopia near the disputed border with Eritrea. Five of the Ethiopians were found within days of the kidnapping. The Europeans were released March 13.

It was not clear who had seized the group. But an adviser to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Bereket Simon, called it “a terrorist act that was taken by the Eritrean government and those sponsored by it.”

Eritrea denied having anything to do with the kidnapping and blamed it on the Ethiopian rebel group Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front. ARDUF, established in the 1990s, aims to unite Afar tribal members in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea.

Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been strained since Eritrea gained independence from the Addis Ababa government in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war. The two countries fought a two-year border war that ended in 2000.

Bereket said he had no details about the condition of the released Ethiopians or who freed them.

“We are happy that our citizens have come back safe and sound,” he said.

The fact that the hostages were released almost six weeks after the Europeans was “absolutely unfair and clearly shows the inhuman nature of the perpetrators,” Bereket said.

“The good thing was there was pressure from the Ethiopian people and government,” he said.

Government spokesman Zemedkun Tekle said the eight Ethiopians were still in the border area and he had no details on when they would be reunited with their families.

(AP)