Gunmen kill tourists in barren ‘land of death’

Five European tourists were killed and two tourists and two Ethiopians were kidnapped in an attack by gunmen in Ethiopia’s Afar region, the Ethiopian government said yesterday.

Spokesman Bereket Simon said two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian died in the dawn attack in an arid area prone to banditry where separatist rebels have operated.

Yesterday afternoon, 11 tired-looking survivors, still dressed in trekking clothes, flew into the capital, Addis Ababa.