Ethiopian & Eritrean dictators are using the tourist hostage as a pretext for war rather than simply let them go free

 The two horn of African dictators have been in war since 1998. They have transformed the proxy war int o hostage taking and killing of Innocent civilian and continue accusing one another  and taking their case to the UN to prove legitimacy to their in human actions. Both countries have been hell for their respective inhabitants , those e leaving their countries are  in hundred thousands every month. Both are  enemy grounds to any kind of free journalism. Both continually imprisoned their oppositions with out any human considerations. Both act like they are in the struggle. Both never be able  to create a stable state institution  rather they are destroying they one they received form the previous rulers.

 An Ethiopian rebel group said the country’s government is blocking the release of two German hostages the fighters are holding. Communications Minister Bereket Simon denied the allegation.

The two Germans and two Ethiopians were abducted during a Jan. 17 attack on a group of tourists on the edge of Erta Ale volcano in the northeastern region of Afar that killed two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian.

“Bianca Irmer and Jurgen Quick are in our custody and safe and we are more than ready to set them free,” the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, or Arduf, said in an e- mailed statement today. “Ethiopian authorities in the Afar region are out to render these efforts null and void in order to get a plausible pretext to unleash a war on neighboring Eritrea.”

Arduf is backed by Eritrea and the rebel group is responsible for the hostages’ fate, Bereket said in a phone interview today from Addis Ababa, the capital.

“These are the terrorists who attacked the tourists and now they are pretending they have an iota of humanity,” he said. “It is a far-fetched and pretentious accusation.”

Ethiopia’s government has accused Eritrea of being behind the kidnappings and killings of the tourists. The hostages were taken after a gun battle between the Ethiopian army and Arduf in which 16 Ethiopian soldiers died, the group said.

“We have no contact with the Eritrean government but we know for sure they have to take responsibility to ensure their release otherwise they will face the consequences,” Bereket said.

Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war from 1998 to 2000 that killed 70,000 people, according to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. The border dispute that caused the war has not been resolved and troops from both sides are still a heavy presence on parts of the divide.

Ethiopian Rebels Say Ethiopia Blocks Release of Hostages BusinessWeek - ‎Jan 27, 2012‎ By William Davison Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- An Ethiopian rebel group said the country's government is blocking the release of two German hostages the fighters are holding. Communications Minister Bereket Simon denied the allegation. Ethiopia RebPublish Postels Say Government Blocks Release of Kidnapped German Tourists Bloomberg - ‎Jan 27, 2012‎ An Ethiopian rebel group said the country's government is blocking the release of two German hostages the fighters are holding. Communications Minister Bereket Simon denied the allegation. The two Germans and two Ethiopians were abducted during a Jan. Ethiopia deny claims by rebel group that their troops shot foreign tourists Washington Post - ‎Jan 24, 2012‎ ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A high-ranking Ethiopian government official says a rebel group's claim that Ethiopian troops killed five European tourists during a gun battle is “pure fiction”. Ethiopia's foreign affairs spokesman Dina Mufti said Monday that ... Eritrea's track record as destabilizing role in the Horn, Ethiopian News Journal - ‎7 hours ago‎ The Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO), stands hand in hand with our brothers and sisters in afar regional state, with people of Ethiopia, as well as with International community by denouncing unprovoked Terrorist action by Eritrean ... Ethiopia: High Time to Exercise Long Overdue Rights of Self Defense Ethiopian News Journal - ‎7 hours ago‎ It was in last weeks international news coverage that a group of European tourists from several countries (Germany. Belgium, Austria, Hungary and Italy) and few Ethiopian nationals were attacked by a certain terrorist group believed to be trained and ... Tourism is Dangerous in Ethiopia Thanks to Meles Zenawi By Amanuel Biedemariam Abugidainfo - ‎9 hours ago‎ Late Monday on January 16, 2012, Ethiopia reported two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian were killed in a deadly attack in Ethiopia's North-Eastern Afar region. During the attacks, a Hungarian and Italian were wounded while two Germans had been ... Ethiopian tourist abductions and attacks blamed on Eritrea eTurboNews - ‎21 hours ago‎ By Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome, eTN Uganda | Jan 27, 2012 (eTN) - Eritrea's dictatorial and radical regime has been fingered by Eritrean opposition groups, Ethiopian, and other international sources for alleged complicity in the recent spate of attacks on ... 27/01/2012Ethiopian rebels want 'speedy release' of German hostages Expatica Germany - ‎Jan 27, 2012‎ Ethiopian rebels said Friday they support the "speedy release" of two German tourists seized in a gunfight last week that left five Europeans dead, but accused Ethiopia of "sabotaging" talks. "The two German nationals... are in our custody and safe," ... Insecurity rules on the steps of the empire Africa Intelligence - ‎Jan 27, 2012‎ Wounded Tourists From Afar Attack Arrive in Ethiopian Capital Ezega - ‎Jan 25, 2012‎ January 25, 2012 - Tourists who faced harrowing ordeal at the hands of rebels in Afar region of Ethiopia arrived in Addis Ababa, according to the Reporter. The tourists were visiting a volcanic region in Ethiopia's northern Afar region, ...