Swiss authorities relax Egypt travel warning after 1997 massacre

Switzerland has relaxed its advice against travel to Egypt more than 18 months after 35 Swiss tourists were killed in an attack by Islamic militants in the southern city of Luxor.

Switzerland has relaxed its advice against travel to Egypt more than 18 months after 35 Swiss tourists were killed in an attack by Islamic militants in the southern city of Luxor.

Visitors to Egypt are still advised to be cautious and the Swiss foreign ministry continues to advise against travel to the provinces of Asyut, El Minya, Sohag and Quena.

The revised guidelines came into force this week, ministry spokeswoman Yasmine Chatila said Wednesday.

Switzerland’s three biggest tour operators announced last August they would restart vacations in Egypt.

The chief of Switzerland’s federal police last month said the November 1997 attack at the temple of Queen Hatshepsut, which killed 62 people including four Egyptians, appears to have been financed by Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden.

The attack was blamed on al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Group, which has campaigned since 1992 to unseat Egypt’s secular government and turn the country into an Islamic republic. More than 1,200 people have died since then.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.