Tajikistan Rebels Take 23 Hostage

Guerrillas seized 23 hostages Friday, including seven U.N. military observers, and threatened to shoot them if their demands are not met within two days.

The hostages were taken about 40 miles east of Dushanbe, the capital, as a U.N. convoy traveled from central Tajikistan, where government troops and opposition forces have clashed recently.

The guerrillas demanded freedom for the brother of an opposition chief who joined forces with the government last month and safe passage into Tajikistan for comrades based in Afghanistan.

They said they will shoot the hostages and detonate 30 bombs hidden around Dushanbe if their demands are not met by Sunday.

A U.N. source in Dushanbe said the 23 hostages included foreign and Tajik U.N. workers, as well as government and opposition representatives of a joint committee set up to conduct negotiations between the two sides.