CAIRO: The 19 Egyptians and tourists who have been kidnapped near the Sudanese border are safe and in good health, according to a source at the tour operator of the trip, but a release date is unknown.
Fatma Hussain from Aegyptus Intertravel told Daily News Egypt Thursday that the hostages were “fine.
Aegyptus Intertravel is the tour operator responsible for the safari during which the kidnapping occurred and whose owner, Ibrahim Abdel Rahim, was also abducted,
“They are doing very well, she said but when queried on if their release was imminent Hussain said, “There is information that we cannot reveal now because of instructions from higher authorities but God willing we will see them all soon.
Hussain also confirmed that it is Abdel Rahim who is the conduit of contact with the outside world, intermittently calling his wife and business partner Kirsten Butterweck-Abdel Rahim.
The hostages have been identified as being held in the Jebel Uweinat region in Sudan after being taken from Gilf El-Kabir in southern Egypt.
On Thursday, Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Youssef told The Associated Press that the group was moved to Libya and was now some 15 km inside Libyan territory.
Ali, speaking by telephone from the Sudanese capital Khartoum, did not know why the kidnappers, who are suspected to be desert tribesmen, decided to move their captives to Libya.
Egyptian government spokesman Magdy Rady and Tourism Ministry officials said they had no information on the move to Libya.
An Egyptian government source talking to Reuters Thursday said “There are negotiations ongoing with the kidnappers now. The Egyptian negotiating team is working to get the hostages released in coordination with its Sudanese and German counterparts.
The talks, the source said, iterating this optimism, could “reach a good outcome soon. A ransom has been demanded, currently believed to be ?6 million.
Reportedly, the bandits have asked for Germany to be responsible for paying a ransom of ?6 million, an Egyptian security official said on Thursday.
“The kidnappers have asked for the German government to be the only one responsible for paying the ?6 million ($8.8 million) ransom as the condition for releasing the hostages, the official told AFP, asking not to be named.
Eleven tourists and eight Egyptians were kidnapped by a masked gang in Karkur Talh in the remote southern area of Gilf El-Kabir near the Sudanese border, officials declared Monday.
The Ministry of Information released a statement that the group was embarking on a safari in the area, which lies at a crux between the Egyptian, Sudanese and Libyan borders.
Those abducted included five Germans, five Italians (three women and two men) and one Romanian. Of the eight Egyptians, four were drivers, two were tour guides, one was a border guard and the final one was the owner of the travel company responsible for the safari. They were traveling in four cars. -Additional reporting by Agencies.
