Kidnappers Move European Hostages into Libya

CAIRO, Egypt — A group of kidnappers who abducted a 19-member European tour group during a desert safari moved their captives from Sudan to Libya yesterday in a new complication to the week-old hostage ordeal, the Sudanese government said.

Sudanese troops "monitored" the kidnappers as they drove in three 4x4 vehicles from the Oweinat Mountain area in northwest Sudan and crossed the border into Libya, a Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ali Youssef, told the Associated Press.

The kidnappers, believed to be desert tribesmen, are demanding a ransom, reportedly of up to $15 million, and Germany has been negotiating with them, but there has been no word on the progress of these contacts.

The Sudanese have been watching the group since it moved into Sudan soon after last Friday's abduction in Egypt but has not tried to capture them, fearing an assault would endanger the hostages, according to Mr. Youusef.