Leftist rebels holed up at the Japanese ambassador's residence denied Thursday that they have sought ransom for their 74 hostages, and denounced Peru's president for claiming otherwise. Through indignantly worded, hand-lettered signs placed in the windows of the compound, the Tupac Amaru guerrillas insisted that they seized the captives to win the release of 300 jailed comrades. We're not interested in money.
Demand is release of our prisoners.
Dec. 17 hoping to extort money from the Japanese companies whose executives were inside. He urged businesses to resist. Early Friday, two bursts of gunfire were heard from inside the compound. There appeared to be two shots, followed by another two shots 30 seconds later. Police guarding the compound leapt to attention.