Reuters
By Aaron Maasho
January 19, 2012
ADDIS ABABA (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 neighbor 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.
Video: German tourists killed in Ethiopia (Euronews)
Watch: Five foreign tourists killed in Ethiopia (Euronews)