E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSGunmen killed five foreign tourists during "usual terrorist activity" in Ethiopia's remote northern Afar region, government officials said Tuesday.
German nationals were among the dead, a Western diplomat said.
State Ethiopian Television said eight tourists were attacked. Besides the five killed, two were severely wounded and were in critical condition at a health clinic. One tourist escaped unharmed.
"The group of foreign tourists was attacked by gunmen late on Mondayby members of a group that was trained and armed by the Eritrean government. It's the usual terrorist activity by the regime," Bereket Simon, Ethiopia's government spokesman, told Reuters.
There was no immediate comment from the Eritrean authorities. The Red Sea state often says Ethiopia "fabricates" lies to tarnish its image.
Afar is known to be a haunt of Ethiopian rebels who regularly cross over the border with Eritrea, Reuters reported. Eritrean rebels and bandits are also in the area at times, the news agency said.
ETV suggested that the attackers were rebels with ties to Ethiopia's archrival Eritrea, which hosts the exiled Oromo Liberation Front, a rebel group listed as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government.
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman said Berlin was working with the German embassy in Addis Ababa to clarify exactly what had happened.
The only foreigners who normally brave the inhospitable Afar are researchers, a few aid workers and adventure tourists visiting geographical wonders such as the Danakil Depression, one of the hottest places on earth with its ancient salt mines and volcanoes.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a 1998-2000 border war that killed some 70,000 people, and the dispute still festers.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Leave a Comment:
Were they the ones kicked off Delta Airlines the other day?
Having Champagne in first class just got a lot less important!
Why go this @!$%#-hole? Your own fault if you get killed there.
What kind of idiot would want to vacation in Ethiopia..
They thought it was Fat Camp, they wanted to loos weight!
As on of the early Christian countries, and having never been colonized by a Western power, Ethiopia is unique in Africa and well worth a visit... the northern part is dangerous however.
Ethiopia is number 60,000 on my list of places to go to!
Now that is hardcore adventure tourism - right up there with Fukushima Daiichi.
Number 60,000. One Number above America for me.
Grendel
That "body stench" could be you, but by the grace of God you are not one of them. Those poor creatures of God will be the first to sit next to the Creator before all us born with plenty. My family supports one of those possible foul smelling families. We pray each day that God would hear their cry, and supply them their needs. Maybe God allows this so that people like you could have some compassion.
Thats the way fight back. Got anything else. Keep it coming or have you run out of clever insults already.
I just don't want to be Murder victim 60,001 since the local population of my town is your average yearly murder rate.
@ Unknown- The same kind of idiot(s) that think it would be a good idea to go hiking in Iraq by the border with Iran, the same idiot's that think taking a pleasure cruise on their sail boat by the coast of Somalia is a good idea.
the same kind of idiots that use an apostrophe when they spell "idiots", like Brad. the same kind of idiots that don't know that "sailboat" is one word.
Idiot
Informal . an utterly foolish or senseless person.
Psychology . a person of the lowest order in a former and discarded classification of mental retardation, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25.
Actually that was the description in the dictionary for Grendel, type it in and see for yourself.
My condolences to the families of the victims and the survivors. May you find the strenght to continue with your lives no matter how empty and sad they might seem at times. May God bless all of you and give you the strenght you need.
I refuse to insult people that have lost so much and in such a trajic way.
@ The Chuckster- There is a difference between innocent victims and people who accepted what most would consider an unacceptable risk. The cruise ship victims come to mind. They were killed because of the Captain's stupidity and carelessness. They have my complete sympathy. The German tourist, on the other hand, choose to travel to a country that is unsafe and I am pretty certain, had travel warnings issued by their government, warning its citizens to stay away. They don't have my sympathy....they chose to take that risk, and paid for it with their lives.
Brad, that's the key word, "They paid with their lives". I will still refuse to insult them Sir. Have a good evening.
Brad would you also say that the American guy who was beheaded in Iraq in the beginning of this war also has no sympathy? He was not a part of military personnel. He was there on business. Is it ok to say about him: "Hey dude! Don't wanna be beheaded? Stay the hell out of places like Iraq in the first place!" I agree with your point on taking a risk in spite of warnings. But I still feel terrible for these people.
The German Foreign Ministry and the US State Department have no current warnings for Ethiopia.
Well that proves they are asleep at the switch and little else.
I agree with Brad that if they had any sense they would stay away from there. But I will not say they deserved to die, no one does with the occassional exception of people in history.
Add another place on your list of places to avoid.
The world for tourism is getting much smaller.
I wonder... when you book your "adventure vacation" to Ethiopia, does the travel agent give you notice of your immediate nomination for - and potential to win - a Darwin Award?
Danakil Depression, described by National Geographic as the "Cruelest Place On Earth."
Ah Germans, looking for a little of war.
They haven't had one for a long time and missing the smell of gunpowder in the morning to bring back the good memories from bygone times.
What other reason could you possibly need to visit to that hell hole.
Europeans pick the oddest places to visit.
Same kind of idiots that go hiking in Iran or Afghanistan.
Americans!
Who is this that are calling Americans idiots. Story's not even about Americans.
Why on earth, with all the terrorists operating in Africa, would anyone go there on vacation?
I have vacationed in D.R. Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Sudan... had a great time in all of them. I'd like to visit every country if possible. As someone once said to me... the diversity of the world is not found in London, Paris or Rome, rather it is in the Third World.
Sudan was easily one of the most fascinating and rewarding countries I have visited.
TIDubai ---- good for you. Just don't expect much sympathy if you don't come back because of the known risks you chose to assume.
London and Paris are pretty diverse now. Not many Europeans left there.
I hear the wastelands of Ethiopia are quite beautiful this time of year.
Why do people go to countries that will put their lives in jeapardy? Is there something I don't understand?
For the same reason that people have sex in public. They crave the rush of excitement and danger - like bungee jumping, it is thrilling. Sometimes there are bad results.
You mean countries like the USA... which is far more dangerous than most other Western countries. I think the two most dangerous places I have been is a small city in D.R. Congo and Cincinnati, Ohio.
If you crave "adventure tourism" go enlist in the Foreign Legion,at least you'll get paid for getting your nuts shot off.
Don't you mean join the American Army