The Libyan government rejected a Sudanese statement on Friday that kidnappers holding 11 European tourists and eight Egyptians had taken them from Sudan into Libya.

'Extensive search and investigations showed no hostages were on Libya's soil,' said an official, declining to be named.

The kidnappers seized the tourists - five Germans, five Italians and a Romanian - last week while they were on a desert safari through the far southwest of Egypt.

Egyptian officials said the 19 hostages were whisked across the border into Sudan, and then on Tuesday the Sudanese Foreign Ministry's head of protocol, Ali Youssef Ahmed, said the captives had been moved into Libya.

According to Egyptian authorities, the kidnappers were demanding a large ransom. One security source said they wanted 6 million euros to set the hostages free.-Reuters