Manilla: Nigerian rebels release Pinoy and 5 other hostages
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Nigerian rebels release Pinoy and 5 other hostages
WARRI, Nigeria, March 1, 2006 (AFP) - Nigerian separatist guerrillas released six of their nine foreign hostages on Wednesday but warned that they would step up attacks aimed at shutting down the country's oil industry.
The militants also said they would not hand over the remaining captives, two Americans and a Briton, until two ethnic Ijaw leaders are freed from jail and the oil giant Shell pays a hefty sum to compensate polluted villages.
Delta State Governor James Ibori welcomed the released captives -- Macon Hawkins of the United States, Egypt's Bardese Mohammed and Aly Shady, Tony Santos of the Philippines and Thailand's Muado Somsak and Arak Suwana -- to his lodge in the city of Warri.
The ailing Hawkins, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, was released on his 69th birthday, after 13 days in the Niger Delta swamps.
"We are very pleased that six of the hostages have been released. I want to thank everyone that has assisted in this effort. I want to thank the captors for deeming it fit to release six out of the nine," Ibori said.
"But I want to appeal to them to release the others. I want to tell them that there is no political gain for holding on to the remaining three for more days any longer," he added.
"We would have been celebrating today if all of them had been released."
The ex-hostages did not speak to the media.
WARRI, Nigeria, March 1, 2006 (AFP) - Nigerian separatist guerrillas released six of their nine foreign hostages on Wednesday but warned that they would step up attacks aimed at shutting down the country's oil industry.
The militants also said they would not hand over the remaining captives, two Americans and a Briton, until two ethnic Ijaw leaders are freed from jail and the oil giant Shell pays a hefty sum to compensate polluted villages.
Delta State Governor James Ibori welcomed the released captives -- Macon Hawkins of the United States, Egypt's Bardese Mohammed and Aly Shady, Tony Santos of the Philippines and Thailand's Muado Somsak and Arak Suwana -- to his lodge in the city of Warri.
The ailing Hawkins, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, was released on his 69th birthday, after 13 days in the Niger Delta swamps.
"We are very pleased that six of the hostages have been released. I want to thank everyone that has assisted in this effort. I want to thank the captors for deeming it fit to release six out of the nine," Ibori said.
"But I want to appeal to them to release the others. I want to tell them that there is no political gain for holding on to the remaining three for more days any longer," he added.
"We would have been celebrating today if all of them had been released."
The ex-hostages did not speak to the media.
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