UPDATE 1-Ethiopia sends elders to help release abducted foreigners
* Tourists attacked early Tuesday
* Addis Ababa says "Eritrea-trained" group responsible
* Eritrea denies accusation (Adds hostages believed to be inside Eritrea)
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Authorities in Ethiopia's northern Afar region have sent elders to try to secure the release of two German tourists and two Ethiopians kidnapped by gunmen and who the government believes are now inside Eritrea, officials said on Thursday.
The four were part of a group of 27 tourists attacked by gunmen at dawn Tuesday. Two other Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian were killed in the raid.
Ethiopia has accused neighbour and arch-foe Eritrea of being behind the attack, saying it had trained and armed the gunmen. Ethiopia also blamed an Afar rebel movement it said was backed by Eritrea for kidnapping five Westerners in the region in 2007.
"We believe they are inside Eritrea now," a spokeswoman for Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
A Hungarian, a Belgian and another person of unknown nationality who lives in Brussels were wounded in the attack and have been taken to a hospital in Mekele, northern Ethiopia's largest city.
State TV showed footage of one of the victims being wheeled on a stretcher towards a helicopter, while another foreigner was lying on a stretcher being treated for chest wounds.
"The region is doing all it can to have them released," Afar's regional president, Ismael Ali Sero, told state-run Ethiopian Television. "We have dispatched a team of elders to secure their freedom from their captors."
Ismael did not disclose whether the group had already made contact with the captors, or if officials had located their hideout.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a 1998-2000 border war that killed 70,000 people, and the dispute still festers.
A government official said the attack was carried out by a heavily armed group of 30 to 40 men.
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. (Editing by Richard Lough and Ben Harding)
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Kenya recently went to war in Somalia to fight the alshabab, why is Ethiopia quiet? Ethiopia has been bleeding by Eritrean sponsored rebel groups for the last 13 years, almost all notorious and barbaric groups such as the OLF and others are based in Eritrea. If Ethiopia’s response towards Eritrea is soft Asmara will continue to destroy Ethiopia. The only language Asmara understands is fire power, If Ethiopia was in a position to respond on time Eritrean government would have been deterred from playing such a dirty game.
Ethiopia shouldn’t waste its time and energy releasing statement from different government offices, releasing a statement from the Ministry of foreign affairs wouldn’t bring the Eritrean government to its senses, the only language the Asmara regime understands is military response. This time Ethiopia’s army should and must work on ousting the Asmara regime, that should and must be our goal. Ethiopians from all walks of lives would be supporting such a military response.
Ousting the Asmara regime is the only way to sustain the ongoing economic development in Ethiopia, its time to deal with Asmara for the last time, Its better to die fighting the Eritrean regime than being killed in a market or minibus by a terrorist attack sponsored by Asmara.
Some of you might ask for a proof as to who have performed the latest attack against Ethiopia, in my opinion this is not an issue. Eritrea has been training all kinds of terrorists in the country, all the training fields which are being used by the terrorist groups should be obliterated, this is the action needed now, we can combine our air-force and ground force together to achieve our goals.
If we leave Shaebiya in power, our historic sites like Axum, lalibela, and Fasiledes can be attacked, these same groups could launch another attack on the engineers working on Renaissance Dam, they will try to kill foreign investors in Gambella and Benishangul. I feel shaebiya is working on all these projects. If we keep quiet now we will cry for another ten years. Our dream of throwing poverty into the dust bin of history will vanish into the thin air. If Ethiopia has to come out from the vicious circle of poverty Asmara regime has to be overthrown.
Ethiopia shouldn’t expect change of policy from Asmara. I call up on the government of Ethiopia to take decisive military action up on Asmara for the sake of our safety and pride……how on earth can we became hostages to Eritrean bullying policy ?
The International community need to take urgent measure against Eritrea which is a state sponsor of terrorism in the horn of africa. If the International community failed to do that Ethiopia will not fold its arms and watch terror spread in the country. Ethiopia should exercise its right of self defence.
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