| A continuation of the story posted by Besoeker; I gave this its own post since the Roooters reporter was trying to jam two stories into one. AoS. |
A day after kidnapping the Germans, the Taliban seized a group of Korean Christians travelling in a bus in Ghazni province which has in recent months seen unprecedented level of violence since Taliban's ouster in 2001. The Taliban said they would also decide later on Saturday the fate of 23 Koreans which include women mostly.
The kidnapping of the Koreans is the biggest group of foreigners seized so far in the militant campaign to oust the Unite States-backed government and force out foreign troops from the country.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun called for the release of hostages, saying they were medical volunteers. "We understand the kidnapped South Koreans have been doing medical volunteer services," Roh told a news conference in Seoul. "The kidnappers must release our people as soon as possible, and safely. In any case, valuable lives should not be damaged."
Last year, the South Korean government tried to stop a group of 2 000 Korean Christians travelling to Afghanistan for a peace conference, fearing for their safety. But 900 of them still came to Afghanistan, causing an uproar in the staunchly Muslim country -- where many accused them of being evangelical missionaries -- before they were all deported.
South Korea has no combat troops in Afghanistan, but has a contingent of 200 engineers, doctors and medical staff. Roh said they would remain in Afghanistan until their mission was complete. "The troops in Afghanistan are non-combatant, doing medical and support work. They have been trying to treat hundreds of people everyday and help reconstruct Afghanistan by building welfare facilities and bridges, and their mission is nearing an end," Roh said. |