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Africa Horn
SAS team on standby for Ethiopia rescue bid
2007-03-05
Well duh. Let's just broadcast it a little more, shall we? Follow-up on a previously posted story.
British special forces have flown to the remote area of Ethiopia where five Britons were kidnapped, defence sources said yesterday. An SAS troop trained in hostage rescue is on standby in Britain and two soldiers from the elite unit, described as being in a "liaison" role, are already on the ground. "They are looking at the ground in case they are needed," a senior defence official said yesterday.

The two women and three men were kidnapped when a gang overpowered their guards, torched the guesthouse in which they were staying and set fire to their cars on Thursday. All five are members of staff from the British embassy in Addis Ababa, relatives of diplomats or officials from the Department for International Development (DFID). Last night a spokesman for the Foreign Office said they were working round the clock to secure the release of the hostages.

A 10-strong team from the Foreign Office arrived in Addis Ababa on Saturday to assist local British embassy staff. Some were dispatched to Mekele, the nearest large town to the site of the kidnapping, and others are expected to arrive in the border area today.

An unverified report suggested a herder had spotted the Britons at an Eritrean army camp on Saturday, 20km (12 miles) from the border between the countries, suggesting that Eritrean soldiers were behind the kidnapping.
Army units kidnapping embassy staff? From where I sit, that's an act of war.
However, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office in Addis Ababa said the kidnappers' identity was still unknown. "Our investigations are moving forward but we are still not sure who took them or where they are," she said.

The Britons, who were travelling with 13 Ethiopians, were touring the remote Afar region. Questions have been raised about why the party chose to visit an area considered to be so dangerous that the Ethiopian government requires tourists to travel with armed guards. But yesterday local tour operators said they were following a well-established tourist path that was particularly popular with French, German and Italian adventurers.
Adventurers. Stupid, bumbling adventurers.
In Hamedela, the village where the Britons were abducted, more than 100 tourists camped over Christmas and New Year, according to Tony Hickey, general manager of Ethiopian Quadrants, a local tour operator. "Afar is no more dangerous than the London underground was before the July bombings," he said.

Most tourists to the region go on organised tours, but, being resident in Ethiopia, the Britons already had vehicles and chose to arrange their own trip. They asked Mr Hickey, an expatriate Irishman who has lived in the country on and off since 1973, to find them a cook, guide and tents. He also arranged for the travel permit from the regional government. "I warned one of the [British] men that the trip was going to be tough but he said that all of them were fit and some had mountaineering experience."

The party set off in two four-wheel drive vehicles from Addis Ababa on Friday February 23, spending the night in Awash and then in the village of Serdo. At Lake Afrera, known locally as the Great Salt Lake, they picked up two armed policemen. Before scaling Erta Ale, an active volcano that last erupted in 2005, they picked up two more local militia and another guide. They returned to Hamedela on Thursday and were due to return to Mekele the following morning, and then back to the capital. When the party failed to arrive in Mekele on Thursday night the hotel contacted Mr Hickey. "They were complaining to me, asking why the guests had not checked in. That's when I realised that they were missing."

According to eyewitness accounts the Britons and around a dozen Ethiopians were woken at 2am by up to 50 men in military uniforms. They were marched away in the direction of the Eritrean border. Their wallets and phones were apparently left in the compound. The two cars were damaged by the kidnappers to ensure that they were not followed.

Foreign Office minister Geoff Hoon yesterday described the situation as "grave" but said every effort was being made to ensure the safe return of those kidnapped.
Posted by:Steve White

#2  Afar is no more dangerous than the London underground was before the July bombings," he said

Pretty grim then.
Posted by: Howard UK   2007-03-05 05:29  

#1  no word yet? Fetch ubu.
Posted by: newc   2007-03-05 00:55  

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