south korean hostage crisis

it's a sad day for south korea. the taliban has executed a south korean hostage. the 23 south koreans were in afghanistan as volunteers, but they were ambushed and kidnapped enroute from kabul to kandahar. the taliban has threatened to kill the hostages unless south korea withdraws its troops from afghanistan and releases some prisoners. south korean negotiators are already in afghanistan to negotiate their release. but the negotiations came too late. a south korean hostage has been executed. now we can all hope and pray no further hostages are executed. let's hope this issue can be resolved peacefully without any further violence and bloodshed.

the south korean hostage deadline has been extended to Friday 27 July 2007 3.30pm MPST (GMT +10)...

another deadline has been set for the release of the remaining 22 south korean hostages in exchange for the release of the eight taliban prisoners. the new deadline has been extended to Monday 30 July 2007 0730 GMT. the south korean hostages are in ill health and are in urgent need of proper medical care. pope benedict xvi has also made a personal appeal to the taliban to release the south korean hostages, saying that holding them contradicted "the most basic rules of civilisation".

oh my god the taliban has executed another hostage. the hostage is believed to be 29 year old shim sung min, a computing professional. the taliban's demands have not been met so far. afghanistan has refused to release the 8 taliban prisoners in exchange for the freedom of the remaining 21 south korean hostages. the organisation of the islamic conference (oic) has issued a statement, saying that "kidnapping and hostage-taking of innocent civilians are serious crimes against humanity and therefore run counter to the tenets of Islam and its noble values." It has also made a personal appeal "to those who are holding the hostages to end this un-Islamic practice", while showing its "solidarity with the Afghan government on this unfortunate crisis."

Wednesday 1 August 2007 0730 GMT is the new deadline for the hostage/prisoner exchange, where 21 south korean hostages are to be exchanged for 8 taliban prisoners.

The latest deadline has already passed. No news from the front line so far. I am holding my breath in anticipation. Word is out that the South Korean hostages will be rescued one way or another, by any means necessary. We can only hope and pray for their safety and return.