Decisive hours for the rescue of the group of 18 tourists and their guide, the vast majority Catalan, trapped for nine days in a roadside hostel in northwestern Ethiopia. During yesterday afternoon, the Ethiopian army recovered positions in a territory controlled by the local Fano militia and occupied the village where the group of travelers is confined. This movement opens the way for a prompt evacuation of Spanish citizens to the city of Bahir Dar, 90 kilometers to the south and which has an airport, or to Gondar, in the north. According to sources close to the mission, who called for prudence given the extreme volatility of the situation, late yesterday the government troops checked that the roads were safe and had no presence of rebels before activating a security corridor for the rescue of the tourists, scheduled for this morning.
We will have to wait a little longer for their return home: the poor Ethiopian road network and poor internal flight connections would delay the possible arrival of the group in Spain until the weekend or even Monday morning.
Inma de Blas, one of the tourists trapped in the group, organized by the Barcelona agency Kananga, which specializes in African trips by truck, confirmed yesterday to this newspaper the entry without violent opposition from the military in the face of the rapid withdrawal of the rebels. "The army has just entered the town peacefully and is securing control of the road." Despite the fact that last night progress was made towards a resolution, the authorities advised Spanish tourists not to leave their rooms yet for security reasons.
Spanish travelers have been blocked in the African country since August 2, when they found themselves in crossfire between the Ethiopian army and Fano rebel militias at a midpoint on the route from the cities of Gondar to Bahir Dar. After throwing themselves to the ground of the van to avoid the shots, the group took refuge in the local hostel, where they have been confined ever since.
Time is pressing for the evacuation of tourists. Although the group seems cohesive and many of its members are seasoned travelers, one of its members suffers from heart disease and only has medication until next Monday or Tuesday, and among them is a minor, 13 years old.
In addition to the shootings, the barricades and the sight of at least two corpses, the presence in the building of uniformed rebels with Kalashnikovs who sometimes went to eat at the hostel's restaurant had also caused nervousness among the group, although there had been no threats. or robberies and the treatment of the armed men was always correct.
The sanitation conditions in the hostel, with no running water and an interior patio with goats and chickens, were poor and had caused cases of mild diarrhea among the Spanish tourists, who were generally in good health and ate pasta. , potatoes, rice, eggs and injera, a typical Ethiopian bread. "In the hostel there are fleas and hygiene is very poor, we have not been able to shower in more than a week, but we are safe," De Blas said. In addition, the family that owns the establishment treats us very well. The worst thing is not knowing when we can get out of here.”
Noelia Bertran, the group's guide, urged the authorities to react quickly, because if the situation takes a new turn and worsens, they will have no room to react. “I hope they get us out of here soon. We can't even leave the hotel, we're sure for now, but the problem is that the situation can explode at any moment. If the battle comes back here, we're in the middle of a crossfire, and that would be dangerous. We are waiting and it is desperate.”
The national airline, Ethiopian Airlines, added centimeters of optimism towards a happy solution by announcing yesterday that today it will resume flights to the country's capital, Addis Ababa, from the Gondar and Bahir Dar airports, despite the fact that connections from Lalibela were suspended. and Dessie. This question is key. The group of tourists is in a small town north of Bahir Dar, just over an hour's flight from the international airport of the Ethiopian capital, with connections to Europe and the rest of the world.
If, finally, the evacuation could not take place by plane, the option by land would mean more than 500 kilometers on roads in very poor condition and that, under normal conditions and without the controls of the current emergency situation, it would take even two days to travel. .
The incident in which the group of Spanish tourists was trapped, as well as other groups of various nationalities throughout the region, sparked last week after days of tensions between the Fano militia and the Ethiopian army. Although the Amhara group, the second largest ethnic group in the country, fought alongside regular troops in the war against the Tigray People's Liberation Front between 2020 and 2022, the relationship had broken with the Government. The recent offer by the Executive of Addis Ababa to dissolve the regional special forces and integrate their members into the army was understood by the rebel side as a government attempt to control and dissolve the Amhara faction.
Since coming to power in 2018 in the second most populous country in Africa, with 116 million inhabitants, the Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ahmed Abiy, has dealt with several violent revolts, in addition to the bloody war with the Tigrays. from North.
Despite this, instability was especially concentrated in the north, and the rest of the provinces had once again received numerous tourists. Despite the fact that the Spanish embassy in Ethiopia assured that there were warnings that the area was not safe, the director of the Kananga agency, Miquel Ribas, flatly denied it. “Until the 4th, when they updated the situation on the web, there was no notice advising against visiting that region. There were warnings for the Tigray area in the north, but where everything has happened is the most touristic area in the country and the proof is that there are several more tourist groups in the region." Ribas denounces that from the Spanish embassy the only recipe until now had been to "wait, wait and wait".
According to Ribas, who held his breath yesterday to confirm the rescue of his clients and employees, they had done everything in their power. “It is not a question of money; If you could charter a plane or organize a convoy, we would have done it already, but it's about getting everyone out safely."
From the hotel, Inma de Blas yesterday flatly rejected the accusations of irresponsibility that were leveled at the group for entering an unsafe area. “I am very outraged that it is insinuated that we are bold or unconscious. Before coming we informed ourselves and there was no official warning not to visit the area. It is not true that the embassy website warned about it. I think the authorities wash their hands and point at us. We know that the situation is complicated, but we have not done anything wrong”.
From Exteriors de la Generalitat, which is closely following the case, psychological help was offered yesterday to tourists trapped in Ethiopia both during the next few days and on their expected return home.
