Peru deploys troops to rescue hostages
- 12 years ago
PLEASE NOTE, THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
Peru's government deployed troops on Thursday in an attempt to rescue hostages held by Shining Path rebels.
Around 40 workers from natural gas companies were kidnapped in a jungle region, notorious for drug trafficking.
A female police officer was killed and three others were wounded in an armed encounter, as troops searched for the hostages. The rebels tried to shoot down a helicopter that was combing the area.
Relatives gathered in the town of Kepashiato, appealed to the government to carry on with negotiations. Some were against the idea of an attack.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED RELATIVE OF HOSTAGE SAYING:
"There are 40 families asking for help. We want them to come and negotiate with those who are holding them and not attack. Because if they attack we don't know who will come out alive."
The family of Miguel Medina, one of the hostages, pleaded for security forces to pull back.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED SON OF KIDNAPPED MIGUEL MEDINA SAYING:
"I just want my father to be here, for the government to understand our pain and try to negotiate with these bad people who cause us so much pain."
But Interior Minister Daniel Lozada said negotiation is a tricky option.
(SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) DANIEL LOZADA, INTERIOR MINISTER OF PERU, SAYING:
"Negotiating with terrorists is very complicated. It would mean giving up some of our position. We don't want to hurt the civilian population, or the hostages."
The rebels have demanded $10 million and dynamite supplies in exchange for the release of the hostages.
This is Peru's biggest hostage crisis in nearly a decade.
Michaela Cabrera, Reuters.
Peru's government deployed troops on Thursday in an attempt to rescue hostages held by Shining Path rebels.
Around 40 workers from natural gas companies were kidnapped in a jungle region, notorious for drug trafficking.
A female police officer was killed and three others were wounded in an armed encounter, as troops searched for the hostages. The rebels tried to shoot down a helicopter that was combing the area.
Relatives gathered in the town of Kepashiato, appealed to the government to carry on with negotiations. Some were against the idea of an attack.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED RELATIVE OF HOSTAGE SAYING:
"There are 40 families asking for help. We want them to come and negotiate with those who are holding them and not attack. Because if they attack we don't know who will come out alive."
The family of Miguel Medina, one of the hostages, pleaded for security forces to pull back.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED SON OF KIDNAPPED MIGUEL MEDINA SAYING:
"I just want my father to be here, for the government to understand our pain and try to negotiate with these bad people who cause us so much pain."
But Interior Minister Daniel Lozada said negotiation is a tricky option.
(SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) DANIEL LOZADA, INTERIOR MINISTER OF PERU, SAYING:
"Negotiating with terrorists is very complicated. It would mean giving up some of our position. We don't want to hurt the civilian population, or the hostages."
The rebels have demanded $10 million and dynamite supplies in exchange for the release of the hostages.
This is Peru's biggest hostage crisis in nearly a decade.
Michaela Cabrera, Reuters.