Hijackers Warn of Massacre but Postpone Threat

The hijackers holding a Kuwaiti jumbo jet at Larnaca airport threatened Sunday to kill their remaining hostages in a “slow and quiet massacre” unless authorities agreed to refuel their plane.

Later, they postponed the threat but said they had “hurt” one hostage--in what manner and how badly was not clear--in reprisal for the Cypriot government’s refusal to refuel the plane, which landed in Larnaca on Friday after spending three days on the ground in Iran.

The terrorists, who on Sunday tortured and killed one hostage, a Kuwaiti security guard whose body they then dumped onto the tarmac, also said at one point that they next planned to fly the Kuwait Airways jetliner to Kuwait and crash it into the palace of Kuwait’s ruler, Sheik Jabbar al Ahmed al Sabah.

Hopes for Breakthrough

However, after a second day of tense negotiations, during which the hijackers seemed to shift unpredictably between confrontational and conciliatory moods, new hopes for a breakthrough were raised early today, when negotiators went to the plane to relay what was described as an “urgent” message to the hijackers.

Its contents were not revealed, but a senior Cypriot official described it as “extremely important.”

Asked about the hijackers’ reaction to the message, the official said, “They told us they would sleep on it” and relay their answer later in the morning.

He refused to elaborate but denied that Cyprus had made any substantial concessions to the hijackers. “It is not a question of changing our offer,” he said. “We want the hostages released, and then we will refuel the plane. We are not changing our offer, but maybe they (the hijackers) are changing their attitude.”

The hijackers, who are believed to be Lebanese Shia Muslims, are seeking the release of 17 fellow Shias imprisoned in Kuwait for a number of terrorist offenses, including the 1983 bombings of the U.S. and French embassies.

Kuwait, which resisted similar pressure for the release of the 17 when one of its airliners was hijacked in 1984, has rejected the demands, and a government spokesman reaffirmed Sunday that Kuwait would not negotiate with the terrorists.

However, after daylong negotiations between the terrorists and a representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization who was brought into the talks Saturday, a Cypriot government spokesman told reporters that he hoped to have some “good” news to announce soon.

Since the Boeing 747 arrived in Larnaca on Friday night, with only a few minutes’ worth of fuel left in its tanks, the position of the Cypriot government has been that it will accede to the hijackers’ demand for refueling only if all the hostages are released first.

Plane-Side Talks Held

However, as the drama neared the end of its sixth day late Sunday, there were signs that progress was being made in the plane-side talks between the hijackers and Malaz Abdo, the deputy representative of the PLO in Cyprus.

Earlier, the hijackers, believed to number anywhere from five to eight gunmen, set a noon deadline for refueling, warning that they would begin “a slow and quiet massacre” of their remaining hostages, who are believed to number less than 50 and who include three members of Kuwait’s royal family.

They also said that if Kuwait continues to refuse to release the 17 imprisoned Shias, they will fly to Kuwait next and crash the plane “onto the damned prince’s palace.”

They suspended the threat, however, after Cyprus Radio broadcast a statement whose wording had been negotiated with the hijackers.

“There was a 12 o’clock deadline by the hijackers,” the statement said. “The government of Cyprus appealed to the hijackers not to carry out their declared intention. The PLO made a similar request.”

‘Our Response Is 100%’

After the statement was aired on Cypriot Radio, which interrupted its normal programming to read it, one of the hijackers radioed the airport control tower to say that “our response is 100%. We will not carry out our threat.”

Why the hijackers responded so positively to such an innocuous statement was not clear, but there was speculation that the announcement constituted a signal of some sort, a message with a meaning known only to the hijackers and the negotiators.

Later, however, the hijackers again began to show signs of impatience and set a new deadline for refueling.

As that deadline passed, the control tower tried repeatedly to contact the hijackers, the apprehension and concern in the voice from the tower rising audibly as his calls went unanswered.

“Please, please. We have a message for you,” the voice said. “We have a message. The delegation of Cypriot authorities wants to meet with you.”

After a few tense minutes, one of the hijackers answered by asking for Abdo. He added: “We have already started to hurt the passengers. One of the passengers has been hurt.”

“Please, I am pleading. . . ,” the control tower official replied. “Mr. Abdo will be there shortly.”

The hijacker asked if Abdo was “bringing anything new.” After a few minutes, the control tower answered by saying that “Mr. Abdo has something new” and would arrive soon.

Four rounds of negotiations were held during the day, with Abdo and a Cypriot official standing atop a mobile staircase, talking to the terrorists through the aircraft’s open exit door.

Kuwaiti Delegation on Hand

A Kuwaiti government delegation, led by Minister of State Issa Mazidi, was also at the airport, closeted in the VIP lounge, which was off limits to reporters.

However, the Kuwaitis, although consulted by the Cypriots, did not appear to be taking an active part in the negotiations.

In Beirut, the pro-Iranian Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War) terrorist group threatened to kill the Western hostages it holds in Lebanon if the plane is stormed, wire services reported.

The threat was accompanied by photographs of American Terry A. Anderson and Frenchman Jean-Paul Kauffman, two of the Westerners believed held by the shadowy organization.

Arafat in Kuwait

PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat arrived on a visit to Kuwait on Sunday to attend a meeting of members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, touching off speculation that he might be conferring with Kuwaiti officials on the hijacking.

Kuwait Airways Flight 422 was commandeered Tuesday en route to Kuwait from Bangkok, Thailand, with 112 people aboard. The hijackers forced it to land in Mashhad in northeastern Iran, where 57 non-Kuwaiti hostages were released.