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Tajik Gunmen Abduct Non-Government Organization Members
Unknown gunmen Friday abducted some members of a non-government organization in west Tajikistan, Russian news agencies reported Saturday.
The members of the non-government organization, German AgroAction, which is operating a network of offices in Tajikistan, were held hostage in the village of Sabzi-Kharf in Tavildara district, 150 kilometers east of the capital of Dushanbe, the Interfax cited a Tajik Interior Ministry official as saying.
It is unknown how many people had been kidnapped, but it has been confirmed that an American and two Germans are among the hostages, and the rest are local residents, a German embassy official was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, an Itar-Tass report said at least 15 people were seized as hostages in the abduction, including 11 employees from AgroAction.
Among the hostages are three foreigners and four officers of the Tajik Security Ministry's regional department, Tass quoted " Tajik security sources" as saying.
According to the sources, the kidnappers are demanding the release of all the people arrested on suspicion of murdering Tajik First Deputy Interior Minister Khabib Sanginov on April 11 this year.
There are four persons arrested in that case, including former opposition members, the sources said.
It is the second kidnap this week. On Monday evening, Rakhmon Sanginov, a field commander of the former Tajik opposition, held a group of servicemen in hostage at a police post near Dushanbe, asking the government to release his several supporters and representatives of the former opposition, who had been detained by the authorities on charges of grave crimes.
The government is negotiating with Sanginov under the mediation of influential politicians of the former opposition, so far without any result.
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