French gov’t not sure about kidnap claim by Woyanne

(AFP) – PARIS – Ethiopian Woyanne troops have escorted a group of 28 French tourists to safety following violence in the eastern Danakil region, the French foreign ministry said.

Ethiopian television had reported that rebels backed by the Eritrean government had crossed the border and attempted to kidnap the tourists on Wednesday.

But a French foreign ministry spokeswoman would only confirm that there had been an “incident”, adding: “Some vehicles received gunshots while the tourists remained at a distance.” [It seems that the kidnap attempt is staged by Woyanne.]

“These tourists were taken to a safe place by the Ethiopian Woyanne army,” said spokeswoman Pascale Andreani, adding that they would be taken to Mekele, the capital of Tigray province.

She added that two drivers from the tourist group remained missing and re-iterated that an advisory warning against travel to the region remained in force.