The 2012 Afar region tourist attack was a shooting incident on the night of 17 January 2012 at

Erta Ale Erta Ale (or Ertale or Irta'ale; Amharic: ኤርታሌ) is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia. It is situated in the Afar Depression, a barren desert area. Erta Ale is the most active volcano ...

volcano in the

Afar Region The Afar Region (; aa, Qafar Rakaakayak; am, አፋር ክልል), formerly known as Region 2, is a regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the pave ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

which killed 5 and injured 3. Four people were kidnapped in the attack.

Bereket Simon Bereket Simon ( ti, በረከት ስምኦን; born 1960s) is an Ethiopian politician who had served as Communications Minister for the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), of which he was a founding member. He under ...

, the country's communications minister told ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

'' the attack was carried out at 5 am on 17 January, by Eritrean-trained groups. Two foreigners, a driver, and a policeman were kidnapped. Eritrea denied having trained and armed the attackers. It was later revealed that two

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

s, two Hungarians and an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

were killed in the attack. Two Germans and two

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

s were kidnapped. Three people injured: two

Belgians Belgians ( nl, Belgen; french: Belges; german: Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultur ...

and a Hungarian. The Germans were released 7 March the same year."Ethiopian rebels release Germans kidnapped in Afar desert
. GlobalPost, 7 March 2012. Retrieved 2013-7-3.
Archived
2013-07-13.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afar region attack Attacks in Africa in 2012 Austrian people murdered abroad Terrorist incidents in Africa in 2012 Mass murder in 2012 German people murdered abroad Hungarian people murdered abroad Terrorist incidents in Ethiopia Spree shootings in Ethiopia Afar Region Attacks on tourists Second Afar insurgency January 2012 crimes 2012 murders in Ethiopia

See also

References