AFGHANISTAN: Afghan doctors arrive in Ghazni to ask Taliban's permission to treat Korean hostages

A group of Afghan doctors has arrived in Ghazni province, at the request of the Korean embassy, to ask the Taliban for permission to treat 21 Koreans who are being held hostage. A group of Afghan doctors arrived in Ghazni province on Friday (August 3) in an effort to treat Korean hostages being held by Taliban in the area. The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Korean church volunteers, 18 of them women, in Ghazni province on the main road south from Kabul on July 20. Two male Koreans have since been killed. The remaining 21 hostages are alive, but two of the women were seriously ill and could die, a Taliban spokesman said. "We came her only to serve the our Korean guests who are under the captives of our Taliban brothers. The Korean embassy contacted us and said that some of the hostages require regular medication, that is why their health conditions are bad," said Dr. Hashim Wahaaj, Director of Wahaaj Diagnostic Institute, as he crossed into Ghazni province with colleagues. The Taliban have repeatedly threatened to kill the remaining hostages if their demands to release rebel prisoners are not met and have accused the Afghan government of not negotiating in good faith. The Taliban have insisted on direct talks with the Koreans, but Seoul has no power to free prisoners from Afghan jails. The Afghan government has refused to give in to the demand, saying that would only encourage further abductions. South Korea and the United States, which has more than 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, agreed not to use force to free the hostages, but Afghan troops warned villagers of a possible offensive in the area where the captives are held.

ITN Source | August 3, 2007

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