Britons missing in Ethiopia.

Efforts are underway to locate a group of British tourists and their Ethiopian guides believed to have been kidnapped in northeast Ethiopia. Five members of staff of the British embassy in Addis Ababa or their relatives went missing together with 13 Ethiopians in the Afar region near the border with Eritrea on 1 March. Five of the Ethiopians subsequently turned up near the presumed kidnap site on 3 March according to Ethiopian News Agency reports. It is not clear whether they escaped or were released. A group of seven French nationals also initially thought missing have also reappeared and are now making their way back to the capital. The BBC reports that British officials are attempting to secure clearance from Ethiopia to visit the site of the presumed kidnapping amid ongoing speculation about who is to blame. Ethiopian officials in the Afar region have pointed the finger at the Eritrean government but Asmara has denied all involvement and claims of the neighbouring country