Taliban seeks safety Guarantees

Aug 03, 2007 10:45 AM
Amir Shah
Associated Press

GHAZNI, Afghanistan – The Taliban sought guarantees of safety from the UN mission in Afghanistan should their delegation hold talks with South Korean officials in government-controlled territory over the hostage crisis, a purported militant spokesman said Friday.

The offer came as Amnesty International said it directly appealed to the Taliban to free 21 South Korean hostages, warning the militant movement that holding and killing captives is a war crime.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a purported spokesman who claims to speak for the Taliban, said the militants are ready to negotiate about the freedom of the captives with South Korea's ambassador to Afghanistan anywhere if the UN mission guarantees the militant delegation's safety.

"The Taliban are ready to meet them in Kabul, other cities or other country, but only under one condition and that is that the UN guarantees their safety," Ahmadi said, speaking on a phone from an undisclosed location.

Officials from the UN mission in Afghanistan were not immediately available to comment on Ahmadi's offer.

Some good possibilities here: G