Hostage pleads for help as Afghanistan rules out prisoner swap

GHAZNI (Afghanistan): A purported hostage made an emotional plea for help in a telephone call with AFP on Saturday, as an Afghan negotiator ruled out an exchange of Taliban prisoners for 21 South Koreans.

"They threaten us, they tell us they'll kill us," a woman who was said by the Taliban to be one of its hostages said in a discussion set up by the militants' main spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi.

"It's difficult, they're very dangerous," she said, speaking at times in English and at times in Dari. She gave her name as what sounded like Sing Jo-Hin but there was no way of verifying she was one of the hostages.

"Most of us are sick now," she wept. "Our condition is worsening every passing day. We can't eat anything and we can't sleep too. And we miss Korea and our homes."

She pleaded with the South Korean and Afghan governments, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Pope Benedict XVI to help win the release of the aid mission.

The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Koreans on July 19 and have murdered two of them. They have threatened to execute more unless at least eight of their men are released from jail.

The militants said after their latest deadline expired on Wednesday they had not killed any more hostages because they were hoping for results from talks with the South Koreans.

"They told us that they are in negotiations with the Afghan and American governments to convince them to free Taliban prisoners in exchange for the South Korean hostages," Ahmadi said on Friday.