Nicaragua Sends Troops to Site of Hostage-Taking

Government troops converged Friday on northern Nicaragua as Contra rebels refused to release 33 military officers, lawmakers and other officials taken hostage during a peace mission that backfired.

The troops stopped short of Quilali, an isolated mountain town about 175 miles north of Managua where rebels drew pistols on the delegation Thursday as it tried to talk them into disarming and taking advantage of an amnesty.

Rebels were demanding the resignation of two key government officials, but President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro has refused.

Quilali was in the heart of the war zone when the U.S.-backed rightist Contras fought the leftist Sandinista government in the 1980s. That war ended in 1990 when Chamorro, a moderate, defeated the Sandinistas at the polls.

But in recent months, both Contras and demobilized Sandinistas have rearmed, staging several attacks on the government. They are angered by the government’s failure to provide land and money to former fighters.

The crisis began two days after the lawmakers agreed to grant amnesty to Contras and Sandinistas responsible for recent attacks.

Hundreds of government troops towing artillery have arrived in the city of Esteli about 65 miles southwest of Caulatu, a small town near Quilali.

The government asked the Organization of American States to negotiate with the kidnapers, a group known as Commando 380.