A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, reiterated Sunday, August 12, that the Taliban will free two sick, female South Korean hostages, but he said the timing of the release had yet to be determined.
However some statements from Ahmadi have turned out not to be true and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is backing the talks in the city of Ghazni, said it had no information about an upcoming release.
Ahmadi claimed however that the two South Korean hostages would be released in part because Taliban leaders were happy with the progress being made in face-to-face talks between two Taliban leaders and South Korean negotiators.
TIME UNCERTAIN
"The time hasn’t been decided. It could be today," Ahmadi told reporters. In comments aired by the Voice Of America (VOA) network, ICRC spokesman Jean Pascal Moret said Red Cross staff are standing by in case any of the hostages are released.
"Right now it is very contradictory. We are also waiting if they need us for any assistance, but we have for the time being…no information," Moret said Sunday, August 12.
The insurgents kidnapped the 23 South Koreans July 19 in the Afghan province of Ghazni. Two of them were killed. The Taliban has warned it will kill more hostages unless the Afghan government frees a number of Taliban prisoners.
Afghanistan’s government has said however it will not release prisoners because doing so could encourage more kidnappings. Afghan authorities say talks with the Taliban are the best way to resolve the problem.
HOSTAGE CONTROVERSY
Critics have condemned the South Koreans for taking unnecessary risks. However their church has said they came to help. South Korean missionaries have said they want to spread "the love of Jesus Christ" to anyone in Afghanistan, including Muslims.
Covering the talk has become more difficult for journalists as Afghan officials banned media Sunday, August 12, from operating near the site where talks on the fate of 21 South Korean hostages are being held.
The move came a day after two Taliban leaders held a news conference there, a move officials said provided coverage for "a terrorist group." Marajudin Pathan, the local governor, has said a ransom payment might resolve the crisis.
The South Korean government reportedly issued guidelines to its aid organizations telling them to leave Afghanistan by the end of the month for safety reasons. Last month, the government banned its citizens from traveling to Afghanistan.
FAMILIES TRAVEL
In South Korea, a spokesman for the hostages’ families said Friday, August 10, that the mothers of several hostages, five women and a translator, will travel to the emirate of Dubai next week to seek help from the Arab world in securing their loved ones’ release.
"The reason why we are sending women, especially mothers, to Dubai is that Islamic culture has more sympathy for women," the spokesman, Cha Sung-min told reporters. Sixteen of the hostages are women.
(Also read:
| BREAKING NEWS: Taliban Release Two South Korean Hostages In Afghanistan (DEVELOPING STORY) |
With reporting from Afghanistan and BosNewsLife Monitoring).
