Posted on 01/21/2005 7:10:21 AM PST by wk4bush2004
BEIJING - China responded to Iraqi insurgents demands that it ban Chinese from going to Iraq saying on Friday it had already warned its nationals against travelling there and called for the safe release of eight Chinese hostages.
Before this, the Chinese government had already issued many warnings to its citizens requesting them not to go to Iraq, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday night.
The eight Chinese people were on the way out of Iraq when they were kidnapped. They should be safely released as soon as possible, it said.
In a video seen by Reuters on Friday, Iraqi insurgents who have threatened to kill the eight Chinese hostages told the Chinese government they would treat them mercifully if it banned all Chinese from going to Iraq.
The men were abducted earlier this month and China ordered its embassy in Iraq to push hard for their release after a 48-hour deadline set by their captors for an explanation of why they were in the country passed on Thursday with no word of their fate.
Signaled by hostage takings?
No, thats not cost effective for them. Their style is more to grab a mullah and congregation from Kashmir and bang bang bang bang bang!
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