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| 14 Nepalese taken hostage in Iraq |
| | www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-26 21:39:26 |
KATHMANDU, Aug.
26 (Xinhuanet) -- At a time when 12 Nepalese have been taken hostage by a
militant group in Iraq, another group of 14 Nepalese citizens, who entered into
Iraq illegally, have been arrested in Iraq, the Nepali Foreign Ministry said
here Thursday.
"The Iraqi Embassy in New Delhi, which also
looks after Nepal, informed that 14 Nepalese were arrested in Iraq, and we are
trying to get detail information about them," the ministry said in a statement
without giving details.
Meanwhile, the Nepali government has
sent a formal letter to the Iraqi government requesting it to initiate
appropriate mediation to secure the release of Nepali
hostages.
"We have sent the letter to the Iraqi government
keeping in view that the process of releasing Nepali hostages would be easier,
if the Iraqi government initiates mediation," said Nepali Foreign Secretary
Madhuraman Acharya.
"We haven't received any response from
the Iraqi militants so far," he said, adding that the Nepali government has
already appealed to Iraqi militants directly or indirectly to release the Nepali
hostages, who were not involved in any military assistance in
Iraq.
The 12 Nepalese kept hostages by the Iraqi insurgents
in a video tape telecast by the well-known Arabian Al Jazeera
Television
appealed to the Nepali government to initiate all possible steps to rescue
them.
They also appealed to the government to take stern
action against the Moonlight Manpower Company, a foreign employment agent who
forced them to go to Iraq despite their unwillingness to go
there.
According to a Xinhua report from Baghdad last Friday, about a dozen Nepalese workers were taken hostage in Iraq by a group of Heroic Mujahedeen (Islamic Fighters) on the night of Aug. 19-20, accusing them of assisting the US troops in Iraq. Enditem |
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