Gunmen killed five Europeans trekking near Ethiopia's famed Erta Ale volcano and kidnapped two others, officials said Wednesday, in the region's worst attack on tourists in years. The volcano is one of Africa's most spectacular and lies in the Afar depression - reputedly one of the least hospitable places on the planet - where local rebels have claimed attacks and kidnappings in the past.
Ethiopia blamed Eritrea but Asmara denied involvement in the attack, which occurred before dawn on Tuesday and dealt another blow to regional tourism after recent kidnappings in Kenyan resorts and attacks on yachts by Somali pirates. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's spokesman Peter Szijjarto, in an emailed statement, provided the nationalities of all the tourists involved in Monday's incident, citing information he said was obtained from Interpol.
"Two Hungarians were killed in Ethiopia and another lightly wounded... In total, five people were killed: two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian," the spokesman said. "Two Italians were able to escape, two Belgians were lightly wounded. Two Germans and two Ethiopians were abducted," he added.