Update: Afghan Doctors Deliver Drugs for Sick Korean Hostages
"...the captors are considering freeing the two sick female hostages unconditionally under Islamic and humanitarian considerations."
(Ghazni Province, Afghanistan)—Amid mounting concerns for the health of the 21 Koreans held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Afghan doctors delivered medicines for the hostages, Reuters reported on Sunday (August 5, 2007).
According to a story carried in the South Korean English-language Chosun Ilbo newspaper, the head of a private clinic in the war-torn country told the news agency his team had dropped more than US$1,200 worth of antibiotics, painkillers, vitamin tablets and heart pills in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni Province, as instructed by the rebels.
"Im Hyun-ju, one of the women among the captives, told Yonhap News in indirect phone contacts, Saturday and Sunday, that the hostages are being held in several separate groups. She asked for medicines, saying two of them are seriously sick, and pleaded with the world to help free the hostages," the story continued.
The Associated Press (AP) reported, "As 21 remaining South Korean hostages entered their third week of captivity at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan, families of the captives appealed to the Afghan people for help in securing the release of their loved ones."
The senior Taliban commander in Ghazni province, Mullah Sabil Nasir, told the Chosun Ilbo though senior political analyst Hamid Mir of Pakistan's broadcaster GEO TV that the captors are considering freeing the two sick female hostages unconditionally under Islamic and humanitarian considerations.
The report continued, "On Saturday, a Korean government official briefly spoke directly by phone with one of the hostages. The official said the conversation took place as part of Korean negotiators' phone contact with the kidnappers on Saturday afternoon. But he declined to elaborate what was said out of concern for the hostages' safety.
"Asked if his government will negotiate with the Taliban, Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai told CNN he discussed the hostage crisis with government officials 'every hour' and his government would take every possible measure for the release of the hostages, except any that encourage more terrorism and abductions. The Afghan government has rejected the Taliban's demand for a swap of hostages for Taliban prisoners, which it says will encourage more kidnappings."
After arriving in the U.S. on Sunday, Karzai is to discuss the hostage crisis with U.S. President George W. Bush at Camp David on Monday. To read this full report, follow the link provided.
