Eritrea has denied accusations by Ethiopia that its forces kidnapped five Britons and 13 Ethiopians who were touring a remote region near the African countries' long-disputed border.

The tour group went missing on Thursday while travelling in Ethiopia's Afar region, about 800km northeast of the capital, Addis Ababa.
 
Yemane Gebremeskel, the director at the office of Issaias Afeworki, the Eritrean president, told AFP: "This is crazy, no one is involved in any business of kidnapping."
 
A senior Ethiopian official had accused a group of Eritrean soldiers of kidnapping the group.
 
'Ethiopians found'

Ethiopian state media earlier reported that five of the 13 kidnapped Ethiopians had been found near the border with Eritrea, but it was not clear whether they had escaped their captors or were released.

No further details were available.

Esmal Ali Sero, head of the Afar administrative region, said about 25 Eritrean "commandoes" kidnapped the British citizens along with their Ethiopian drivers and translators on Thursday night. He cited local investigators.

A senior Ethiopian official in the ruling party, who asked not to be named, also said Eritreans were behind the kidnapping.

Earlier on Saturday, a team of British officials arrived in Ethiopia to help in the hunt for the missing group. The foreign office in London would provide no further information on its efforts.

Margaret Beckett, the British foreign secretary, on Friday confirmed that five "members of staff, or relatives of members of staff, at the British embassy in Addis Ababa" were missing in the desert region which borders southern Eritrea.

On Saturday, a team of British officials arrived in Ethiopia to help in the hunt for the missing group.

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