(AKI) - The masked men who kidnapped 19 people in Egypt come from the central African country of Chad, according to the Arab television network, Al-Jazeera.Egypt says negotiations are continuing in a bid to secure the release of the group abducted near the southern city of Aswan on Friday. Five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian, along with eight Egyptians were kidnapped while on safari. The government says they were taken across the border into Sudan, and the hostage takers have demanded a ransom.
Sources told Al-Jazeera that secret service agents from Italy and Germany are working directly with the wife of the tour operator, who was abducted, to free the 19 hostages.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, said on Monday the government was monitoring the situation closely and working with Egyptian officials to free the hostages.
Since news of the kidnapping broke on Monday, there has been a significant fall in the flow of tourists, particuarly European tourists, in the region surrounding Aswan.
Egyptian officials said early reports suggesting the tourists had been freed were premature. The tourists and the Egyptians were abducted near the Gilf al-Kebir plateau, close to the Libyan and Sudanese borders.