Some 5,500 Dutch tourists are in strife-torn Egypt at the moment, foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans said on Tuesday.

Nearly all of them are in tourist resorts. Timmermans bases his information on statistics supplied by travel firms.

A further, 1,400 people are registered with the Dutch embassy in Cairo, mainly people who live and work there, the minister said in a briefing to MPs.

The Dutch government last week tightened its travel advice to Egypt, saying no-one should travel to the country apart from those who have to make essential journeys to the Red Sea resorts.

Holiday firms have complained the instructions do not make it clear if holidays can go ahead or not.

Brussels

Timmermans also told parliament he intends to press Brussels to stop all forms of help to Egypt while the violence continues. Last week, the Netherlands halted its (minor) aid programme to Egypt.

‘It would be incomprehensible if the EU offered help as long as the different groups are not talking to each other,’ Timmermans said.

European foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Egypt.