http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/01/18/eritrea-denies-charges-it-backed-afar-attack-3/
Eritrea Denies Charges It Backed Afar Attack
Posted Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 7:20 am
Eritrea has called claims it was behind a deadly attack on foreigners in
northern Ethiopia “an absolute lie.”
Eritrea's ambassador to the African Union, Girma Asmerom, made the
statement Wednesday. He was replying to charges by an Ethiopian government
spokesman that the attack was carried out by rebels armed and trained by
the Eritrean government.
Ethiopia said Wednesday that the five people who died in the attack in the
northern Afar region were two Germans, two Hungarians, and one Austrian
national. Two Belgian nationals were reported wounded.
Officials also said two Germans and two Ethiopians were kidnapped in
Tuesday's early-morning ambush.
Details are still emerging; it is not yet clear how many tourists were in
the group. And earlier, Ethiopian officials had said the attack happened on
Monday.
Ethiopian state television said Tuesday that at least one tourist survived
the attack unharmed.
Ethiopia often accuses its neighbor of supporting militant groups inside
its borders. Eritrea, once a part of Ethiopia, gained its independence in
1991 after a 30-year battle. The two Horn of Africa countries later fought
a border war from 1998 to 2000, and tensions remain high.
The Afar region has ancient salt mines, hot springs and volcanoes that
entice many sightseers. In 2007, a group of European tourists was kidnapped
there, but they were later released
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Received on Wed Jan 18 2012 - 10:44:03 EST
