Eight Ethiopians kidnapped last month with a group of European tourists in the country's northern Afar State have been freed in neighboring Eritrea, state media reported on Sunday.

"Their release is due to pressure imposed on Eritrea by the international community," the official Ethiopian Television (ETV) quoted a government statement as saying.

The eight Ethiopians had been taken as hostages for 52 days since they were seized along with three British men, one Italian- British woman and a French woman in Afar state near the Eritrean border on March 1.

The eight Ethiopians remained hostages even after the five Europeans were freed in Eritrea in early March.

Ethiopia has repeatedly accused Eritrea of plotting the abduction, but Eritrea denied this accusation, saying its arch foe Ethiopia was trying to tarnish its image.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2007)