GULF WATCH: Day 97 : A daily briefing paper on developments in the crisis : Hostage Front:

Saddam Hussein ordered the release of 108 hostages, 77 of them Japanese citizens who will fly home with former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who had appealed for their freedom.

Military Front:

The Marine Corps called 824 reservists to active duty, including more than 600 for combat roles. The Pentagon also released new figures showing U.S. troop deployment for Operation Desert Shield has reached 230,000.

Diplomatic Front:

Former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt met with 150 German hostages, two Iraqi government officials and PLO chief Yasser Arafat. Brandt meets with Hussein today.

Secretary of State James A. Baker III met in Cairo with Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen. Baker said he was reassured that China would not oppose military action in the gulf.

Combat forces from the Marine Corps Reserve:

Troops called up for active duty Tuesday: * From the 4th Low-Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Pasadena,

Calif.: 55

* From the 4th Light Armored Vehicle Battalion,

Camp Pendleton, Calif.: 34

* From the 4th Tank Battalion at Miramar Naval Air Station,

Calif.: 120

* From the 23rd Marines, Broussard, La.: 75

* From the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, Baltimore,

and Charleston, W. Va.: 73

* From the 4th Amphibious Assault Battalions at Gulfport, Miss.

and Norfolk, Va.: 189

* From the 4th Force Reconnaissance Company, Reno, Nev.: 34

* From the 25th Marines, the Bronx, N.Y.: 53