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| World Home » Current Affairs » | Thu. Nov 20, 2008 |
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British diplomats kidnapped in Ethiopia MIL/Agencies, Mar 3, 2007. March 03, 2007 - Foreign Office officials have landed in Ethiopia to investigate the kidnapping of a group of British embassy staff. The five are all either employees of the Foreign Office or related to officials at the embassy in Addis Ababa. Rossanna Moore, the wife of Michael Moore, the director of the British Council in Ethiopia, is thought to be among them. Nothing has been heard from them since they vanished in the early hours of Thursday. Seven French tourists were seized in the same disputed Afar region. A search involving Ethiopian police and army is under way in the Afar desert, close to the Eritrean border. An emergency meeting of the Government's Cobra committee was held in Whitehall yesterday, which is standard practice in such situations. The SAS is understood to be on standby to participate in any hostage rescue operation, though it is hoped the situation can be resolved without military intervention. The French have a Foreign Legion base nearby and could be asked to help with any rescue. Whitehall sources said satellite and signal intelligence gathering was being deployed to try to locate the captives. No group has made any contact or admitted responsibility. In a statement Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said the Government was working with Ethiopian authorities who "are doing all they can to ensure that the situation is resolved peacefully". Mrs Beckett said: "We have already been working very closely with Ethiopian authorities, through our Ambassador in Addis Ababa.
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