The number of hostages held by former Peruvian soldiers seeking the resignation of President Alejandro Toledo rose to 17 after supporters of the rebel group took seven soldiers prisoner, according to a government official.
"The new hostages are soldiers captured by sympathizers of the Etnocacerista movement," the official said, requesting anonymity.
The official said the new hostages had been seized after a curfew introduced by the government in the Andean city of Andahuaylas in the vicinity of a police station held by the rebels.
Earlier Monday, a sharpshooter reportedly killed one rebel as government forces took up positions around the police station in the south of the country where renegade former soldiers held the hostages.
Authorities warned they were readying to storm the station held by a band of rebels thought to number about 150, <i>AFP</i> reported.
On Monday afternoon a sharpshooter shot and killed a member of the ultra-nationalist group, according to Antauro Humala, the leader of the ex-soldiers who seek the resignation of President Toledo.
Hospital officials said another four people were injured by gunfire just as Humala returned to the station after brief talks with police chief Felix Murazzo.
Police also used teargas to disperse dozens of rebel supporters who sought to gain access to the city's main square, which was blocked off by security forces.
Humala earlier backed down on a promise that the rebels would surrender their weapons earlier Monday. He claimed government troops had moved too close to the police station.
He insisted he was ready to move out, but said, "the problem is troops keep moving in and sharpshooters are being deployed." He told a Lima radio station this violated the surrender conditions.
