The 19 Spanish tourists are trapped in northern Ethiopia They have already left Ethiopian territory, where tensions between the government and the Fano militias have been raging: 18 of these tourists who were waiting in a rural town in the Amhara region, were finally evacuated by helicopter to Bahir Dar Airportabout 80 kilometers from Ahmara.
From there, Spanish citizens should fly on tomorrow Abis Ababa, and that they will return to our country on Sunday. Two more Spanish tourists, trapped in the city of GondarYesterday they managed to catch a plane that took them straight there to the capital of the African country.
a week of uncertainty
If all goes according to plan and the tourists return to Spain on Sunday, their return journey will mean the end a situation of uncertainty experienced by travelers over the week; A conflict broke out on the first day of August in the Ethiopian city of Lalibela, which soon spread throughout the north of the country; exactly this region of Ethiopia it is particularly touristy and therefore several European travelers have been caught in the crossfire between the forces of the federal government of Ethiopia and the so-called Fano militia, composed of members of the native ethnic group of the region ahmara
The conflict is the result of tensions between the Ethiopian central government and the Ahmara paramilitary forcesbrought with it the closure of the main airports in the region – Gondar and Labibela- and a situation of insecurity in land transport over highways.
This riot cut short the journey enjoyed by 18 Spanish tourists. and organized by Barcelona travel agency Kananga: the tour of travelers, between It was a 13-year-old girlIt ends last August 2ndwhen the climate of tension in the region reached its peak and the travellers Because of the fighting, they had to cut short their journey.
The tourists decided to stay in a small rural town of Ahmarawhere they stayed until the Ethiopian army managed to restore normalcy. As they themselves conveyed to various Spanish media, tourists were not exposed to any danger although today they have to live with the meager material conditions typical of a small African village.
The biggest problem, according to El PaÃs, was the lack of medicines in the city; One of the travelers needed Sintrom and two more needed antimalarial drugs.
Federal troops entered the city two days ago and pushed back the rebels. As soon as the roads are open again, Yesterday it was planned to evacuate the Spaniards in a convoy; however, the Ethiopian authoritiesdecided to wait to reduce the risks and finally they decided to only take the travelers by land to a nearby military base.
From there, A helicopter took the travelers to Bahir Dar, where they are out of danger. The State Department says it was aware of the situation at all timesmanagement of the transfer and the return of the Spaniards to Spain. Foreign Affairs also claims to have issued a notice on July 30 advising against travel to the country. The Kananga company – which claims to have been unaware of the announcement – also claims to have helped resolve the situation by asking local contacts for assistance in mobilizing military personnel.