French, British tourists kidnapped in remote northeastern Ethiopia

Britain was sending a 10-person crisis team to Ethiopia on Saturday after at least a dozen Western tourists - including five Britons - were kidnapped in remote northeastern Ethiopia, a barren expanse of

volcanoes and ancient salt mines where bandits and rebels operate.

The tourists - between seven and 10 French in one group and five British citizens in another - were seized Thursday in Dalol, 800 kilometers (500 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa, according to a businessman and a tour operator who work in the area. They asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. (AP)