Government emissaries said the first breakthrough could be the release of German journalist Andreas Lorenz. The kidnappers have pledged to Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan to release Lorenz this week. The Der Spiegel magazine reporter was abducted on July 2 as he covered the crisis, which started in the Malaysian resort of Sipadan on Easter Sunday. Lorenz's editor Olaf Claus Brinkmoeir arrived here July 7 and met behind closed doors with Tan. The Abu Sayyaf, which styles itself as a separatist guerrilla group, is holding the 20 mostly foreign hostages, a group of 13 Christian preachers who went to the guerilla hideout last weekend, and three Filipinos seized from nearby Basilan island in March.
Manila says it is paying no ransom.
Influential Libyan mediator Rajab Azzarouq was due here July 7 to deliver an ultimatum to the kidnappers, Tan said. Based on our information, which is reliable, there was no such event that took place. He said that perception among Abu Sayyaf factions about money being given in exchange for the hostages and division of the expected booty had led to friction among them, which could delay the resolution to the crisis. Reports this week said that one faction of the Abu Sayyaf wanted to kill the 13 Christian preachers after an argument on the fate of the hostages which led to a near shootout among the guerrillas. News Items on this website are for private use and must not be reproduced, printed or reposted without our written permission.