Five Britons kidnapped in Ethiopia's 'land of death'

By Cahal Milmo
3 March 2007

Five Britons including diplomats and embassy staff were among 15 Western tourists being held by kidnappers in a remote corner of Ethiopia dubbed the "land of death" because of its extreme climate.

The Britons, who have links to the British embassy in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, were in one of two convoys intercepted on Wednesday in the barren Afar region close to the border with Eritrea, which is roamed by separatist rebels and bandits.

Whitehall sources said last night that there was a "national security dimension" to the kidnappings and that the government's emergency committee, Cobra, had met over the incident.

The second group, comprising between seven and 12 French citizens, was believed to be being held by the same kidnap gang after both convoys were stopped in the Danakil Depression, a spectacular desert bowl that contains the lowest point in Africa more than 500 metres below sea level.

A television crew working in the area which had been out of touch for more than 24 hours last night returned to safety, leading to incorrect reports that the French group had been released unharmed.

The Foreign Office said it was investigating the disappearance of the Britons but said the details still remained sketchy around the circumstances of how they were taken. Under Ethiopian government rules for tourists, all groups of visitors to Afar, in the north east of the country, have to be accompanied by at least two armed guards.

Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, said the British group consisted of embassy staff and their relatives and an emergency team had been sent from London to handle the crisis. She said Britain was working with the Ethiopian authorities who are "doing all they can to ensure that the situation is resolved peacefully". Whitehall sources underlined that situation was uncertain and potentially perilous. Dalol, the village where the kidnappings took place, is on the border with Eritrea, which has a fraught relationship with Ethiopia. The border is frequently the scene of clashes between armed groups and security forces.

One of those kidnapped was named as Rossanna Moore, the Italian-born wife of Michael Moore, the director of the British Council in Addis Ababa, which deals with cultural relations. The others are thought to be middle-ranking officials with the diplomatic service and the Department for International Development.

The British group was on a long-planned trekking trip to the spectacular salt mines in Dalol, which have become an increasing attraction for intrepid travellers in recent years. Several tour organisations have sprung up offering guided visits to the Danakil Depression in off-road vehicles. The region, which is of huge geological and archaeological significance after three-million-year-old fossils of human ancestors' remains were found in, is one of the most hostile environments on the planet.

The average temperature is 34C and the daytime heat can reach 45C. It is often wracked by volcanic eruptions and earth tremors. The renowned 20th century British explorer Wilfred Thesiger described it as a "veritable land of death".

It was unclear whether the tourists had fallen foul of a criminal kidnap group or Afar separatists who have been fighting a low-level campaign against the Ethiopian government for an autonomous state straddling territory in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti.

The two groups are thought to have travelled on Sunday by road to Makele, the principal town in Afar, some 500 miles north east of Addis Ababa. They then travelled with their tour agency, Origins Ethiopia, to Hamedali, a remote village that was to act as a base. Each group was travelling in two off-road vehicles, accompanied by a guide, a cook and two armed guards.

According to reports, one of the tourists in the French group managed to escape the kidnappers and flagged down another tourist party and used a satellite phone to alert the authorities.

Stephane Gompertz, the French ambassador in Addis Ababa, said: "A kidnapping or kidnappings did take place. It seems that the incident or incidents happened two days ago. We don't know which group may be involved or why they have done this."

The crisis is a blow to the Ethiopian government's attempts to boost tourism. The Foreign Office said yesterday it was advising against all travel to Afar.