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SEOUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban has decided not to free any of 21
South Korean hostages despite earlier saying two women could go, the
Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Sunday citing an insurgents’
spokesman.
Yonhap quoted Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi as
saying, “Our leaders have changed their minds and decided not to
free two female hostages.”
South Korean officials refused to confirm the
report.
After face-to-face talks between the Taliban and
a South Korean delegation, Ahmadi told Agence France-Presse late
Saturday that the two women, who are reported to be ill, were being
released unconditionally as a “gesture of goodwill.”
The Taliban abducted 23 Christian aid workers in
volatile southern Ghazni province on July 19. Two male hostages have
been shot dead, and the insurgents have threatened to kill the rest
unless captured militants are released from jail in exchange for
their lives.
But Kabul, backed by Washington, has refused to
accept that demand, fearing it would only encourage more
kidnappings.
The government in Seoul, meanwhile, says it is
powerless to bring about a prisoner release.
--AFP
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