Italy negotiating hostage swap
2004-04-18 21:00
Rome - Italy could exchange Islamic extremists held prisoner within the country for its three nationals who were kidnapped in Iraq, a relative of one of the hostages told Ansa Italian news agency on Sunday.
"They assured me they (the hostages) were alive. This exchange is being negotiated," Angelo Stefio, the father of 34-year-old Salvatore Stefio, said.
Salvatore Stefio is among three Italian security guards being held in Iraq by a previously unknown group calling themselves the "Green Brigade".
A fourth Italian, Fabrizio Quattrocchi, was executed on Wednesday by the abductors, who have demanded the withdrawal of Italy's troops from Iraq and threatened to kill the other three men.
Officials in Rome denied the report that any negotiation was taking place with the insurgents.
"There is no possibility of an exchange of Iraqis detained in Italy for the Italian hostages," an official source from the office of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.
Italian officials have raced in recent days to secure help from authorities in the Middle East in their efforts to free the men, and have insisted on the need for discretion about their strategy.
Another family member of one of the two other hostages said she had "no information concerning a possible exchange between Italian hostages and Islamic extremists held prisoner in Italy", according to Ansa.
Stefio, the father of the hostage, said his son was an innocent captive, and called for the exchange.
"Let's do this exchange - civilians aren't involved. They're not part of the military.
"Let (their abductors) give us our people and we'll give them theirs.
"I hope that in a day or two this affair can be resolved," he told the news agency. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA