Ultimatum to Bangladeshi kidnappers

Security is tight in the area: Police check a tourist's papers

The Bangladeshi authorities have said they will launch a military assault unless the kidnappers of two Danes and a Briton release them by Sunday.

I won't take any responsibility if the government goes for harsh actions

Hill Tracts Affairs Minister

The minister responsible for the remote southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts, Kalporanjan Chakma, issued the ultimatum after meeting local tribal leaders in Rangamati, where the kidnapping took place nearly two weeks ago.

Mr Chakma, himself a tribal leader, told the meeting:"I won't take any responsibility if the government goes for harsh actions. Release them unconditionally."

The announcement follows comments by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that the government will use force if the abductors fail to respond to negotiations.

The three Europeans are being held for a ransom of about $1.6m by the kidnappers, who are believed to be members of a local tribal group opposed to a 1997 peace treaty aimed at ending a long-standing tribal insurgency.

Meanwhile the authorities are distributing photos of the three hostages to villagers in the area in their latest effort to establish direct contact with the abductors.

Area sealed off

Briton Tim Selby and his Danish colleagues Torben Mikkelsen and Nils Hulgaard were abducted while surveying a road construction project in the region.

Sheikh Hasina: Commandos on standby

Army commandos have already cordoned off an area of dense forest where the abductors and their hostages are believed to be staying.

Commandos were used a few years ago to rescue government officials who were kidnapped by a group of tribals in the same area of the hill tracts.

However, Sheikh Hasina did not mention any time frame for army action.

Both the UK and the Danish Governments have expressed concern over the hostage crisis.

Ransom demand rejected

The prime minister said that she appreciated their concern, but suggested that the Europeans were not supposed to be in the area from which they were kidnapped.

Briton Tim Selby: Was surveying road project

She questioned why they had gone there.

Meanwhile, government negotiators again tried to make direct contact with the abductors on Wednesday, but returned from the jungle hideout without any result.

Later, they told journalists that the abductors' ransom demand would not be entertained.