Several Hundred Loyal to Ceausescu Still on the Loose

Thousands of security forces loyal to Nicolae Ceausescu have surrendered or been captured in the week since the dictator was overthrown, but several hundred remain in hiding, a government official said today.

The prisoners include some generals and high-ranking officers from the security force, known as the Securitate, Deputy Foreign Minister Cornelieu Bogdan said. The total number was not immediately disclosed.

Several hundred hard-line holdouts remain at large in defiance of the government’s ultimatum to surrender or die, said Cazimir Ionescu, a vice president of the National Salvation Front.

The revolutionary government had given members of Ceausescu’s despised security police until Thursday to surrender or face execution.