Eritrea-trained gunmen killed five foreign tourists in Ethiopia’s Afar region

The Ethiopian government requires visiting tourists to be accompanied by a police escort

At least five tourists, including a number of Germans, have been killed by gunmen in Ethiopia, according to reports.

Two other tourists were in a critical condition after the attack in the remote northern Afar region, Ethiopian television reported.

An eighth tourist escaped unharmed.

The attackers allegedly crossed into Ethiopia from neighbouring Eritrea.

“The group of foreign tourists was attacked by gunmen late on Monday, by members of a group that was trained and armed by the Eritrean government,” Bereket Simon, Ethiopia’s government spokesman, told Reuters.

“It’s the usual terrorist activity by the regime.”

Ethiopia and Eritrea, which gained independence in 1991 after three decades of fighting Addis Ababa, fought a bloody border war between 1998 and 2000 that killed about 70,000 people.

Separatist rebels operate in the region and Ethiopia routinely accuses Eritrea of supporting them.

In 2007, five Britons were held by an Afar separatist group for 13 days after being abducted in an attack on their convoy. They were released in Eritrea before being reunited with their families.

Bandits are also known to operate in the area and the Ethiopian government requires visiting tourists to be accompanied by a police escorts.

Afar boasts a number of natural and archaeological attractions which attract intrepid tourists to one of the hottest places in the world.