15 Europeans missing in Ethiopia's 'land of death'
Pastor Dale Morgan
15 Europeans missing in Ethiopia's 'land of death'*
POSTED: 1549 GMT (2349 HKT), March 2, 2007
Story Highlights
• 11 French, two Britons, one Italian, disappeared in remote Afar area
• Believed to have been kidnapped by separatists calling for an Afar state
• Renowned writer described hostile environment as "veritable land of death"
• 3 million year old fossilized specimen "Lucy" discovered in Afar in 1974
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Reuters) -- Fifteen foreigners, including 11
French nationals, two Britons and an Italian, are believed to have been
kidnapped in a remote and inhospitable area of Ethiopia where separatist
rebels operate.
"A kidnapping or kidnappings did take place," French Ambassador Stephane
Gompertz told Reuters.
Two groups -- one of 10 French tourists, the other comprising a mixture
of nationalities -- disappeared earlier in the week while visiting the
arid north-east Afar region considered one of the world's most hostile
terrains.
"It seems that the incident or incidents happened two days ago in the
evening. At the moment, we don't know which group may be involved or why
they have done this," Gompertz added.
Separatists want Afar state to be independent
Afar separatists started a low-level rebellion against the government in
the 1990s, calling for a separate Afar state on territory straddling
Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti.
Afar is one of Ethiopia's poorest regions, populated mostly by roaming
herders who scrape a living with sheep and goats.
The second missing group of five people, thought to be touring the
Danakil Depression, included two Britons, one French national and one
Italian, according to expatriates. The last missing person is also said
to be British, but that could not be confirmed.
"We can confirm that a group of Western tourists is missing in eastern
Ethiopia including a number of British nationals with connections to the
British Council, Foreign Office and DFID," a British Foreign Office
spokeswoman said in London. DFID stands for Britain's Department for
International Development.
Unworldly region of ancient salt mines, volcanoes
One of the lowest and hottest places on earth, and a magnet to
adventurous travellers, the Danakil Depression is known for volcanoes,
ancient salt mines and unworldly, flat landscapes.
It was not known exactly where the first group of 10 French tourists had
been within the Afar region.
"Tourists have been kidnapped in the area before, but the last time was
before the Ethiopian-Eritrean war," said one foreigner tracking the
case, referring to a 1998-2000 border war between the Horn of Africa
neighbours.
In 1995, nine Italian tourists were captured by Afar tribesmen in the
desert, then released two weeks later.
Ethiopia's government said it was aware of this week's incident, but
could not confirm if it was a kidnapping.
French envoy Gompertz said his mission was trying to send
representatives to the largest nearby town of Mekele later on Friday or
Saturday. "We are hoping to see the hostages alive and well as soon as
possible," he said.
3-million-year-old remains of 'Lucy' found here
Britain's Foreign Office has a warning out on the Afar region, advising
against all travel within 20 kilometers of the Eritrean border in the
Tigray and Afar regions at any time, "which remain predominantly
military zones."
The Afar region was made famous in the writings of British explorer
Wilfred Thesiger who once described it as a "veritable land of death"
due to its hostile environment.
The area is also the location of some of the earliest human remains,
such as the famous 3 million year old fossilized specimen "Lucy",
discovered there in 1974.
Various small rebel groups operate around all Ethiopia's border regions.
Two aid workers for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
-- an Irishman and an Ethiopian -- were briefly kidnapped in the
south-east Ogaden region last year.