Kidnappers 'agree new meeting'

Tim Selby, awaiting talks on his release

Suspected tribal rebels in Bangladesh who are holding two Danes and a Briton hostage have agreed to meet government negotiators, according to military officials.

The kidnappers failed to show up for a previously arranged meeting on Wednesday, sending back word that they would not meet inside an area cordoned off by the army.

Negotiators returned from the remote forests empty handed

Officials say the kidnappers are ready to discuss the situation on Thursday morning, but a location has yet to be decided.

The three men were seized by unidentified gunmen last Friday in the remote Chittagong Hill Tracts region.

Government negotiators, who went to meet the kidnappers near their hideout in Rangamati district, were forced to return empty-handed on Wednesday.

Now it appears the negotiations could be tough

Government official

Each round trip of this kind takes anything up to eight hours by motorbike. The area is rugged, communication extremely difficult.

The security forces' search for the kidnappers appears to remain suspended while efforts to negotiate the hostages' safe release are pursued.

Good health

Another military official said the gunmen's envoy had brought a note from the hostages confirming they were in good health.

The three men have previously demanded that soldiers and police withdraw from the area before any negotiations.

Briton Tim Selby, 28, an engineer from Manchester, had been in the country for a fortnight working on an engineering project funded by the Danish Government. He had been due to return to the UK on Sunday.

Another British man, David Weston, and the group's Bangladeshi driver were also abducted but later released unharmed in order to pass on a ransom demand for $1.7m (£1.2m).

The Danes, believed to be Torben Mikkelsen and Nils Hulgaard, worked for Kampsax, a Copenhagen-based company.

Hostage confirms he's well

A member of the British High Commission and the Danish ambassador travelled to the region on Sunday to negotiate for the hostages' release.

Tribal insurgency

Local officials suspect a small group of former Shanti Bahini rebels, who opposed a 1997 peace deal with the government, may be responsible for the abductions.

A peace accord ended 25 years of tribal insurgency in the 14,200 sq. km (5,500 sq. mile) hill tracts bordering India and Burma.

The rebels have been accused of kidnapping members of rival groups, but the abduction of three foreign nationals, who were laying roads in the hill region, has surprised the authorities.