Two UN military observers kidnapped over the weekend in the troubled Caucasus republic of Georgia were still being held Wednesday after their kidnappers failed to release them as expected, a UN official said.
"Contrary to our expectations, the hostages have not been released. We do not know why. The Georgian authorities continue to assure us that they will be freed very soon," said UN official Veselin Kostov.
Polish Lieutenant Colonel Zbigniew Blechacz and Greek Captain Eustathios Kokkinitis were abducted Sunday in northwestern Georgia, as they were patrolling a buffer zone between Georgia and the separatist Abkhazia region.
"Negotiations (with the kidnappers) are continuing and we have almost reached an agreement," a source at the Georgian interior ministry said, on condition of anonymity.
The abduction of the two UN personnel came 10 days after two Spanish businessmen were snatched by four attackers thought to be linked to Chechen rebels hiding out in Georgia's eastern Pankiyski gorge, which borders the war-torn Russian republic -- TBILISI (AFP)
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