Kidnap Britons happy to be free

The British Embassy hostages kidnapped in Ethiopia are "immensely happy" to be free.

The group of five were captured on March 1, along with 13 Ethiopians accompanying them on a tourist trip to see geological sites in remote parts of north-eastern Ethiopia.

They were released in Eritrea yesterday and have been named as First Secretary Peter Rudge, Jonathan Ireland, a member of the administrative support staff, two members of the Department for International Development, Malcolm Smart and Laure Beaufils, a French national, and Rosanna Moore, wife of the head of the British Council in Addis Ababa.

In a statement, they said: "We are immensely happy that we have been released and would like to thank all those who have been involved in our release. We were treated well by our captors, physically we are all in good condition but obviously very tired.

"One of the first things we all did after our release was speak to our families.

"It was great to be able to tell them that we are well after all they have had to go through in the last 13 days. We look forward to being reunited with our family and friends."

Rosanna Moore's husband Michael spoke of his delight at her safe release. He said: "I have just watched the television now. At this stage I'm just so overwhelmed I am almost in tears."

The Foreign Office said it hoped the hostages will come back to the UK "shortly" but said there is as yet no timetable for their return.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of orchestrating the kidnapping, and described it as an act of terrorism.

Eritrea has denied having anything to do with the kidnapping and has blamed the rebel Ethiopian group the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front.

But relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been strained since Eritrea gained independence from the Addis Ababa government in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war.

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