Home>News Center>World
             
     

    Afghan militants say to hold talks on UN hostages
    (Agencies)
    Updated: 2004-11-07 15:38

    Militants holding three U.N. workers hostage in Afghanistan said they expected to hold talks via intermediaries with U.N. and government negotiators on Sunday while the U.N. repeated a call for their immediate release.


    Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai (R) gestures as he addresses a press conference with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf at The Presidential Palace in Kabul.[AFP]
    The talks were expected to start by 1 p.m (0830 GMT) at an undisclosed location, a spokesman for the Taliban splinter group Jaish-e Muslimeen (Army of Muslims) said late on Saturday.

    Spokesmen for the group could not immediately be reached on Sunday. U.N. and Afghan government officials have declined to comment on any talks and Major Scott Nelson, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, said on Saturday he could not comment given the sensitivity of the situation.

    The kidnappers had threatened to kill Filipino diplomat Angelito Nayan, Annetta Flanigan from Northern Ireland and Kosovan woman Shqipe Hebibi unless their demands were met by Saturday night.

    The little-known splinter group has demanded the release of Taliban prisoners, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the suspension of U.N. operations in the country.

    The three U.N. workers were kidnapped on Oct. 28 as they were returning to a U.N. guest house in Kabul from a center where votes from Afghanistan's presidential polls were being tallied.

    Jaish spokesman, Sayed Khalid Agha, said the deadline had been extended because of the time taken for the U.N. and government negotiators to arrive, but he said the kidnappers had not moderated their demands.

    "We are very hopeful that our demands will be met," the spokesman said. "Our demands are the same, we have not diluted them. We hope the delegation is capable and has the necessary authority and that the talks will not just be to buy time."

    The talks would be conducted through intermediaries, he said.

    U.N. APPEAL

    The kidnappers say the health of the hostages, who have now been held for 10 days, has deteriorated and they are suffering from the cold.

    The United Mations repeated a call for their release.

    "The concern of their families, friends and colleagues increases every day, every hour and every minute that goes by and they are still being kept away from them," U.N. spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva told a regular news briefing.

    "People who claim to have control over our three colleagues have been telling the press that they are not in good health.

    "If that is the case, the best response, for their need of medical attention is their immediate release. Those who are holding Annetta, Shqipe and Angelito are responsible for their welfare and we call on them not to harm them."

    A videotape broadcast by Arab television station al Jazeera on Oct. 31 showed the distressed hostages answering questions from a captor whose face was hidden by a scarf.

    The abductions have raised fear among the 2,000-strong Western community in Afghanistan that militants have begun copying tactics of insurgents in Iraq.

    They have also cast a shadow over President Hamid Karzai's election victory, and raised questions about the security of U.N. workers helping to prepare for parliamentary polls next April.

    There is speculation Jaish-e Muslimeen may be seeking ransom and publicity. It says it wants to fan the Taliban insurgency against 28,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops, though mainstream Taliban spokesmen have distanced themselves from the kidnapping.

    The government has previously negotiated the release of several foreigners kidnapped by Taliban guerrillas, some by paying ransoms.



     
      Today's Top News     Top World News
     

    Nation likely to be 3rd largest trading power

     

       
     

    Nutritional imbalance plagues people

     

       
     

    Mine blast kills 33, injures 6 in Henan

     

       
     

    Coal mining: Most deadly job in China

     

       
     

    Shen and Zhao win Cup of China

     

       
     

    Consumer price remains stable in October

     

       
      Police lose control of Mosul amid uprising
       
      Arafat buried in Chaotic scenes in West Bank
       
      U.S. may use Iraq meeting to engage Iran
       
      Bush vows second-term push for Palestinian state
       
      Dutch to withdraw troops from Iraq in March
       
      Haiti PM orders arrest warrant against Aristide
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      Related Stories  
       
    Official: Nepalese hostage in Iraq freed and safe
       
    Al-Zarqawi says he beheaded Japan hostage
       
    Gunmen seize American, 3 others in Iraq
       
    One American, 5 others kidnapped in Iraq
       
    Japanese hostage confirmed dead in Iraq
       
    Polish hostage in Iraq appeals for life
      News Talk  
      Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
    Advertisement
             
    亚洲精品无码久久久久AV麻豆| 欧美日韩国产中文字幕| 国产乱码精品一区二区三区中文| 无码国内精品人妻少妇 | 欧洲精品无码一区二区三区在线播放 | 无码人妻少妇久久中文字幕蜜桃| 中文字幕av无码一区二区三区电影| 亚洲AV无码精品色午夜果冻不卡| 最近中文字幕mv免费高清视频8| 国产精品无码素人福利不卡| 亚洲成AV人片在线播放无码| 中文字幕一区日韩在线视频| 人妻中文字系列无码专区| 人妻无码中文字幕免费视频蜜桃| 人妻少妇伦在线无码专区视频| 亚洲中文字幕无码久久精品1 | 亚洲欧洲美洲无码精品VA| 日韩区欧美区中文字幕| 国产区精品一区二区不卡中文| 中文字字幕在线一本通| 无码人妻丰满熟妇区五十路| a级毛片无码兔费真人久久| 欧洲精品久久久av无码电影| 亚洲av无码av制服另类专区| 亚洲一区二区三区无码中文字幕| 国产亚洲大尺度无码无码专线| 亚洲欧洲中文日韩av乱码| 伊人久久无码精品中文字幕| 熟妇女人妻丰满少妇中文字幕| 亚洲韩国—中文字幕| 最近更新中文字幕第一页| 久久亚洲中文字幕精品一区四 | 13小箩利洗澡无码视频网站免费 | 精品人妻无码区在线视频 | 国产成年无码久久久久毛片| 色综合久久无码五十路人妻| 日韩精品无码熟人妻视频| 久久久无码精品亚洲日韩蜜臀浪潮 | 亚洲欧美日韩中文字幕一区二区| 国产中文在线观看| 最近中文字幕在线|