GULF WATCH: Day 94 : A daily briefing paper on developments in the crisis : Hostage Front:
Iraq released four American hostages “for humanitarian reasons,” including a 49-year-old California man who had been held as a human shield at an undisclosed strategic site in Iraq.
An Iraqi official said his nation would release all Western and Japanese hostages upon receiving a pledge that no military offensive would be launched against Iraq. He said the pledge had to be made by either the U.N. Security Council or two of the five following nations: France, China, the Soviet Union, Germany and Japan.
Diplomatic Front:
Secretary of State James A. Baker III left Washington for an eight-day tour of the Middle East and Europe, where he will confer with world leaders about the timetable for gulf action.
Military Front:
Three French soldiers captured last week by Iraqi soldiers and then freed face disciplinary action at home, officials said.
Western citizens still in Iraq and Kuwait:
* Britain 1,500
* United States 926
* Germany 413
* Italy 306
* Ireland 254
* Netherlands 169
* Canada 100
* Australia 94
* Sweden 90+
* Switzerland 80
* Denmark 70
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