UN in fresh Afghan hostage appeal

Three UN workers kidnapped three weeks ago in the Afghan capital remain out of reach, a government official said today, as fresh appeals were made for their release.

Armed men seized Armagh woman Annetta Flanigan, Philippine diplomat Angelito Nayan and Shqipe Hebibi of Kosovo on October 28 in the first kidnapping of foreigners in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban three years ago.

Afghan authorities believe the trio, who helped organise last month’s presidential election, have been kept hidden in the Kabul area ever since, but they have been unable to discover where.

“There is no update,” Interior Ministry spokesman Latfullah Mashal said today.

Taliban-linked militants claiming responsibility for the bold daylight kidnapping have demanded the release of 26 jailed comrades, some of them from US custody. The American military has refused.

However, Mashal said that the trio are believed to be in the hands of a criminal gang, and that security forces were manning road blocks around Kabul to prevent them being moved beyond the city.

UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva today declined to comment on whether the motive for the kidnapping was political or mercenary.

Afghan officials and diplomats have said negotiations through middlemen have focused on demands for a ransom.

But there has also been speculation that opponents of US-backed interim leader Hamid Karzai, who won a clear majority in the October 9 election, may have instigated the raid.

Karzai has vowed to eliminate the warlord militias who still control much of the Afghan countryside, as well as the booming narcotics trade. He is expected to announce his new cabinet in early December.

Almeida e Silva reiterated an appeal from relatives and friends of the three abducted election workers.

“Their families, friends and colleagues worry and want them back,” Almeida e Silva said. “Lito, Shqipe and Annetta also need to be back with their families.”