Security
Afghanistan: Korean hostages on hunger strike
Taliban rebels seized 23 South Korean aid workers on July 19. Two have been killed and two have been freed.
Dubai, 20 August (AKI) - As tense negotiations continue over their fate, some of the 19 South Korean hostages held by the Taliban in Afghanistan have begun a hunger strike in a bid to stay together.
The Korean news agency, Yonhap, said on Monday that the captors had separated the hostages into five groups for detention at several different locations in Ghazni Province in central Afghanistan where they were taken hostage.
"A man and two women went on a hunger strike from Sunday morning, demanding that they be brought together into one group," an anonymous source told Yonhap.
Taliban rebels abducted 23 South Korean Christian aid workers in central Afghanistan on July 19 and later killed two of them. Last week the kidnappers freed two female hostages in what they called a "goodwill gesture."
The kidnappers have renewed their threat to kill more hostages unless the Afghan government agrees to exchange the captives for Taliban prisoners, the source said. The warning came Saturday after the latest talks with South Korean negotiators ended without progress.
Yonhap reports South Korea proposed to pay a ransom for the hostages without specifying the amount and the proposal was reported to Taliban leaders.
Factions within the Taliban clashed over whether to accept the monetary offer but decided to reject it, according to the source.
There are also reports that the militants have decided to set a new deadline on Monday for the Afghan government to release jailed Taliban fighters.
Speaking to Yonhap in a telephone call, the purported Taliban commander, Abdullah Jan, claimed the decision was made at a request from South Korean negotiators.
Government officials in Seoul refused to confirm the reported deadline, but a spokesman for the presidential office on Sunday said Korean officials in Afghanistan continued to make contact with the Taliban militants through direct and indirect means.
Efforts to save the remaining hostages also continued Monday in Seoul where the country's vice foreign minister, Cho Jung-pyo, met with a senior Afghani diplomat to ask for Kabul's support for the release of the hostages.
The Korean news agency, Yonhap, said on Monday that the captors had separated the hostages into five groups for detention at several different locations in Ghazni Province in central Afghanistan where they were taken hostage.
"A man and two women went on a hunger strike from Sunday morning, demanding that they be brought together into one group," an anonymous source told Yonhap.
Taliban rebels abducted 23 South Korean Christian aid workers in central Afghanistan on July 19 and later killed two of them. Last week the kidnappers freed two female hostages in what they called a "goodwill gesture."
The kidnappers have renewed their threat to kill more hostages unless the Afghan government agrees to exchange the captives for Taliban prisoners, the source said. The warning came Saturday after the latest talks with South Korean negotiators ended without progress.
Yonhap reports South Korea proposed to pay a ransom for the hostages without specifying the amount and the proposal was reported to Taliban leaders.
Factions within the Taliban clashed over whether to accept the monetary offer but decided to reject it, according to the source.
There are also reports that the militants have decided to set a new deadline on Monday for the Afghan government to release jailed Taliban fighters.
Speaking to Yonhap in a telephone call, the purported Taliban commander, Abdullah Jan, claimed the decision was made at a request from South Korean negotiators.
Government officials in Seoul refused to confirm the reported deadline, but a spokesman for the presidential office on Sunday said Korean officials in Afghanistan continued to make contact with the Taliban militants through direct and indirect means.
Efforts to save the remaining hostages also continued Monday in Seoul where the country's vice foreign minister, Cho Jung-pyo, met with a senior Afghani diplomat to ask for Kabul's support for the release of the hostages.
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