European tourists were kidnapped in Cameroon.

A group of European tourists travelling in southwest Cameroon were kidnapped Monday. Speaking on state television late on Tuesday, government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said 18

Hostages had been taken on Monday and were freed hours later by the army’s elite Rapid Intervention Battalion.

He said the group included seven Swiss and five Italian tourists as well as six Cameroonian municipal officials, who were taken by English-speaking separatists in the restive southwest region.

However tour group African Adventures said its clients had simply been stopped on Monday by a group of armed individuals who carried out a check of their documents and vehicles, contradicting the government spokesman.