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The now eight-day old hostage crisis in Afghanistan has seen three deadlines come and go. Through it all, families of the captives and the Korean government have worked round the clock to secure their release as their nation watched and prayed.
The abduction of the 23 Koreans who went to Afghanistan as short-term volunteers took place on July 19, when the group was traveling by bus from the capital Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar. In response, the Korean government on Friday called an emergency meeting of security and diplomatic personnel at Cheong Wa Dae. At the same time, Seoul urged all of its citizens still in Afghanistan to leave immediately.
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An Afghan police stands guard on the highway to Ghazni province, southern Afghanistan on Wednesday. Taliban militants have killed one of the 23 South Korean hostages Wednesday and threatened to kill some of the others tonight if the Korean and Afghan governments refuse to meet their demands./Xinhua
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On day 3, the government reaffirmed its plan to withdraw all of its peacekeeping troops from Afghanistan by year's end as scheduled. The Taliban welcomed the troop pullout, but it was apparently not enough. In its first 24-hour ultimatum, the insurgent group also demanded a one-for-one swap of hostages for 23 imprisoned fellow fighters. It warned hostages would be killed if their demands were not met.
The same day, President Roh Moohyun spoke by phone with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and asked for his government's support to free the hostages. With the clock running out on the first deadline, there came a hopeful sign when the Taliban abductors extended it by another 24 hours but with the same demands as before.
Korea dispatched a team from the Defense Ministry to Afghanistan to work with Foreign Ministry officials, the Afghan government and U.S.-led coalition forces on the ground. The second deadline passed with no new developments except yet another 24-hour extension and the Taliban indicating the Korean hostages were healthy and safe.
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Protesters hold candles during a rally demanding the safe return of South Koreans kidnapped in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of South Korean troops from that country in Seoul on Wednesday,/AP
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As the hostage drama entered day 6, there was still no word on the fate of the Korean volunteers as the third deadline slipped by. A high-ranking Taliban commander told the Afghan Islamic Press the hostages were being treated well.
Hopes rose on the seventh day on news that eight of the 23 hostages had been freed, but that has not been confirmed. Instead, there came a crushing blow: confirmation that the militants had killed one of the hostages, the Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu, who led volunteers taken hostage in Afghanistan. His body was found riddled with 10 bullets.
There are conflicting news about the eight hostages, with one report saying they had been returned to the Taliban base in Ghazni Province where the captives are held.
Arirang News
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