Kidnap drama targeting tourists near Hamed Illa foiled

20 February, 2008

Addis Ababa, February 20, 2008 (Addis Ababa) - A kidnap attempt by Sha'ebia intruders on Wednesday at a spot between Hamed Illa and Dalul areas of the Afar Regional State has been foiled, the joint anti-terror taskforce of the national intellegence, security service and the federal police disclosed.

It is to be recalled that Sha'ebia has been perpetrating blatant acts of terror, including the kidnap of foreign nationals and Ethiopians at Hamed Illa in March last year, who were released after days in detention in Eritrea.

In a repeat of the same act of terrorism, at around 11:00 a.m. today, the intruders of the government in Asmara sneaked into a tourist site between Hamed Illa and Dalul in the eastern part of Ethiopia near the border with Eritrea and tried to kidnap a group of foreign tourists - but this time without any success.

The kidnap attempt targetted at about 28 foreign tourists was foiled in a defensive measure taken by police installed to guard tourists to the area. The tourists were walking to the site, when the abductors opened fire at their vehicles.

All the 28 tourists, many of them are French citizens, are totally safe except the bullet holes rendered to their vehicles by the intruders.

In an immediate response, the members of the army came to the area and took the rescued tourists to Hamad Illa.

The Ethiopian News Agency