A European tour group taken hostage by gunmen in southern Egypt 10 days ago has been released. The 11 European tourists, along with eight Egyptian drivers and guides, are thought to be in good health, and are being taken back to Cairo.
10天前在埃及东部被武装分子绑架的一个欧洲旅行团的成员已经获释。被绑架的人中有11名欧洲旅客以及8名埃及司机和导游。据说，他们健康状况良好，并被送回开罗。
The tourists, five Germans, five Italians, and one Romanian,¨were abducted on September 19, while on a trip to the Gelf el-Kebir region of southwest Egypt, near the border with Sudan. The hostages were taken into Sudan and later to Libya, though it remains unclear where they were finally released.
这些旅客中有5名德国人、5名意大利人和一名罗马尼亚人。他们是九月19号被绑架的，当时他们正在前往埃及西南部同苏丹交界地区附近的凯比尔高原地区。这些人质被带到苏丹，后来又被带到利比亚，目前还不清楚他们最终是在哪里被释放的。
Egyptian state-owned television reported the release of the hostages, which was confirmed by Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini. Frattini referred to an operation to secure the tourists' release, with the cooperation of Sudan and Egypt, but declined to offer details.
埃及官方电视台报道了人质获释的消息，意大利外交部长弗拉蒂尼随后证实了这一消息。他提到了在苏丹和埃及的配合下为确保人质获释而采取的一项行动，但是拒绝透露行动的具体细节。
The announcement came a day after Sudanese troops killed six of the hostage-takers in a shootout. Sudanese Foreign Ministry official Ali Youssef says, two gunmen were also arrested.
一天前，苏丹军队在枪战中打死了6名绑匪。苏丹外交部官员尤素夫说，有两名武装分子被捕。
"These eight people were driving a vehicle with Egyptian plates and were moving in the area and they were intercepted by the army and there was a fight," he said. "Six of them were killed, and two were captured, and are now being interrogated. The two said that the hostages are kept in a hideout inside Chad, near the border, in preparation for the exchange of the hostages for a ransom."
他说：“这八个人开着一辆埃及牌照的车进入这一地区，被军队拦截，双方进行了交战。6名绑匪被打死，两个被捕的绑匪正在接受审讯。他们说，人质被关押在乍得靠近边界的藏匿地点，绑匪们准备用人质来换取赎金。”
The attackers had demanded a ransom of nearly $9 million from the German government.
绑匪要求德国政府支付近900万美元的赎金。
Other Sudanese officials have suggested that the gunmen involved in Sunday's clash were linked to a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, a rebel group in the country's western Darfur region. Rebels with the Sudan Liberation Army, as well as other Darfur rebel groups, have denied any involvement.
其他苏丹官员说，参与星期日交战的武装分子同苏丹解放军的一个派系有关联。苏丹解放军是苏丹东部达尔富尔地区的一个反政府组织。不过，这个组织和其它达尔富尔反政府团体的成员否认和绑架有关。 |