Hostages in Egypt suffer from food shortage

Cairo: Kidnappers who seized 19 hostages in Egypt more than a week ago are running short of food and fuel, an Egyptian government source said on Saturday.

The official said the kidnappers moved the hostages into Libya for a few hours on Friday to try to stock up on supplies before returning to Sudanese territory.

"They are suffering from a severe shortage in food and fuel," the official said.

Kidnappers snatched 11 Western tourists and eight Egyptians from a remote border area last week and took them into Sudan.

The Egyptian government identified the tourists as five Germans, five Italians and one Romanian.

Egyptian officials said the kidnappers were asking the German government for a large ransom. One security official put the figure at $8.78 million.