CAIRO: Sudanese officials have claimed that the group of hostages abducted from El-Gilf Al-Kabir last week are on their way back to Egypt and may be freed very soon.
“Sudanese security forces have located the route [of the group]. They are currently on their way to Egyptian borders from Sudan east Uwainat region, said Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman Ali Yussef to Al-Arabiya satellite channel.
Yussef added in comments reported by the Sudanese news agency that “It seems that all the hostages are well.
An Egyptian official told Reuters that the group had gone into Libya for a few hours on Friday to stock up on supplies because they were running out of food and water but had returned to Sudan right away.
The local press quoted a German official as saying, “The negotiations have been successful and the hostages will be released within a couple of hours.
Germany is negotiating the ransom demand of some ?6 million by the kidnappers, whose country of origin remains unknown.
Another Egyptian official told AFP that a deal had been agreed between the kidnappers and German negotiators but “negotiations were still ongoing to work out details.
The hostages, 11 tourists and 8 Egyptians, were kidnapped on Sept. 19 while on a safari in the area.
The hostages appear to be safe according to a source at the tour operator of the trip, but gave no indication of a release date.
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.
Reuters reported that the kidnapping had been preceded by acts of banditry in the area, quoting guides stating that newcomers in gun-mounted pickups had begun to appear since last winter.
Those new arrivals are believed to either be rebel groups from Darfur in Western Sudan or armed groups from Chad.
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.
