European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 a a the stars and stripes thursday August 9, 1990 liberian rebel Leader releases hostages Monrovia. Liberia apr rebel Leader Prince Johnson on wednesday freed foreign hostages his forces kidnapped to provoke International in Crven Tion in liberians bloody civil War. The British foreign office said Johnson released All the hostages seized monday and tuesday but said it was unclear How Many people were freed. On tuesday Johnson presented 22 hostages from eight countries at a news conference. A a foreign office spokesman in London said Britain was waiting for the hostages to come to Monrovia from the nearby town of Caldwell where they were being held. Only eight of the hostages have been identified. They Are an american an argentinian three britons a dutchman and two West germans. A fourth briton has been freed but not identified. In Beirut an official said 10 lebanese were among those kidnapped. The american hostage was identified As Chris mend 27, a mining contractor from Sacramento  from Page 1 Bush sharply condemned iraqi aggression in invading Kuwait last week. He demanded a immediate unconditional and Complete Quot withdrawal and the restoration of the kuwaiti government to Power. Later in his noon hour news conference the president said . Forces would not be used to try and drive Iraq out of Kuwait. He said he hoped the co nomic sanctions would accomplish that end. Members of Congress offered immediate backing for the presidents moves. House speaker Thomas Foley said a i think the people and the Congress will support him Quot expressions of concern blended with support. Democratic rep. Los Aspin chairman of the House armed services committee said the nation was in for a a couple of very very tense  the reaction from Iraq was defiant. State television. Declared that a history has proved that Kuwait is a part of  in his remarks the president conceded that the saudi defense Mission a May take time and be  he also said he would consider tapping the nations strategic Petroleum reserves to assure a ready Supply of Oil. He called on the Oil companies not to engage in unnecessary Price hikes to take advantage of International uncertainty and urged that other Oil producing nations boost production. Bush said he was concerned with the possibility that Iraq might use chemical weapons since it has employed them in the past Quot it would be intolerable and it would be dealt with very very  Powell said american forces were equipped with masks clothing and Medicine to thwart the chemical weapons. He expressed Confidence about the Mission saying of the Battle tested iraqis a they Are not invincible. They Are not 10 feet  Bush said he thought there were already indications that Iraq was a beginning to Feci the Pinch a from the economic sanctions voted earlier in the week by the United nations he said additional Steps might be taken to assure Iraq from Page 1 and squadrons of aircraft All the centers of brute Force inside or outside the Arab Homeland will not shake a single Palm Frond in Basra. Kuwait or Ahmadi a the iraqi statement said. Mina Al Ahmadi is Kuwait a main Oil loading terminal. Basra is a key port on the Shatt Al Arab in Southern Iraq. Saudi rulers have never before allowed . Troops onto their soil and sources had said Arab participation in the multinational Effort was a saudi condition for doing so. But Morocco and Egypt denied . Reports their troops would participate. The fact that the saudis Are allowing in . Forces and warplanes indicates they consider that iraqis president Saddam Hussein harbours further expansionist intentions. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak called in a nationally televised speech for an emergency Arab Summit. His spokesman Mohammed Abdelmoneim later said the meeting will be held in Cairo Egypt thursday night. . Marines were airlifted into Monrovia on sunday one Day after Johnson threatened to begin rounding up foreigners in Hopes of forcing foreign Powers to intervene and end the civil War. The marines evacuated americans and other foreigners and took tip defensive positions within the walled . Embassy compound. Neighbouring West african nations agreed tuesday to Send troops to Stop the fighting. Johnson had said the hostages would not be freed until the United states or West african nations intervened militarily. Rebels waging the 7-Monlh-Oid War Are trying to oust president Samuel Poe. Some 5,000 people mostly civilians have been killed in the civil War. Johnson said his forces would attack the marines if no troops came. Nigerian president Ibrahim Baban Gida said. Wednesday that his peacekeeping troops would be de the sanctions effectiveness. It was a possible reference to a naval blockade that has been under discussion reportedly with the soviet Union among other nations. My military objective is to see saudi Arabia defended. Our Overall objective is to see Saddam Hussein get out go Back and have the rightful regime of Kuwait in place Quot Bush said. Asked if the United states was at War he replied a a we re not in a War. We have sent forces to defend saudia  Bush committed american forces As the second part of an International Effort to Force an iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait. The United nations voted earlier in the week to impose a Complete Trade embargo against Iraq and Bush and other world leaders have been considering How to implement the sanctions including a possible naval blockade. Also wednesday Spain and Italy agreed to let the United states use oases on their territory to help transport . Troops and equipment on their Way to Gulf. France has said it has not been asked to take part in the multinational Force and that participation was not a envisaged at this  Turkey which closed twin iraqi Oil pipelines to the Mediterranean on tuesday also was not asked to join such a Force said turkeys foreign ministry spokesman Murat Sungar. In Bonn West Germany a government spokesman said wednesday that . Planes involved in the saudi operation would be allowed to fit Over the country or land at bases in West  West German official insisted there would be no possibility for sending German troops or warships to the Middle East to Nelp with the multinational defense Force. The West German Constitution bars that from happening he said. Taizo Watanabe a japanese foreign ministry spokesman also said his country a Constitution would bar it from joining any International military Effort in the persian Gulf. The battleship Wisconsin departed tuesday night on a we Klong voyage for the Mediterranean sea armed with 32 Tomahawk cruise missiles programmed with targeting information about specific iraqi positions the sources said. It would escort the aircraft Carrier Saratoga to the Mediterranean. Two other carriers the Independence and Eisenhower Are already in the Region along with their escort ships. Abdelmoneim did not give the exact number of Arab countries that had accepted Mubarak a Summit proposal. But he said they included saudi Arabia Syria Algeria Djibouti the United Arab emirates Yemen Libya and Qatar. Wednesdays iraqi announcement said the iraqi backed provisional government of Kuwait yearned a to achieve Complete Unity Between Kuwait and Iraq and for the hero Saddam Hussein to be our Leader and  Iraq says it invaded to support a new government by Quot revolutionary youth Quot who had toppled Kuwait a rulers but diplomats have called that a Trace. Iraq had already announced that Kuwait s currency was being linked on a one to one basis to the iraqi Dinar in another sign of imminent annexation. On tuesday Saddam said his people a would rather die than be humiliated and threatened to a Pluck out the eyes of those who attack the Arab  reports wednesday by the Washington Post the new York times can and others quoted intelligence sources As saying iraqi forces appeared to be loading Poison Gas munitions aboard combat aircraft. That was said to have sealed the decision to deploy . Troops. Played soon in  from Nigeria said 500 soldiers were waiting to be flown to Monrovia. Street Battles continued to rage in the liberian capital where rival rebel armies Loyal to Johnson and former bureaucrat Charles Taylor arc fighting each other and soldiers of the beleaguered Doe. The president remains holed up in his fortified  fighting also broke out near the . Embassy. State department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said the marines will protect the embassy and a will do that with Force if necessary a the state department said the . Embassy has taken Steps to evacuate All americans and some other foreign nationals who can reach the embassy in Monrovia. The economic Community of West african states meeting in Banjul Gambia said in a communique at the end of their two Day Summit tuesday that a five nation group led by a ghanaian commander would go to Liberia. The other nations sending troops Are Guinea Nigeria Sierra Leone and Gambia. Freed in Lebanon syrian reports Damascus Syria apr kidnappers freed a Swiss red Cross worker in Lebanon on wednesday and handed him Over to syrian authorities a syrian official said. Reporters were summoned to the foreign ministry in Damascus for the imminent handover of the hostage to Swiss officials. There was no immediate word on the identity of the hostage one of two red Cross workers kidnapped 10 months ago in Sidon in Southern Lebanon. It was the first breakthrough in the hostage situation since april when two american hostages were freed. A group calling itself the palestinian revolutionary squads said in a statement released late tuesday that it would free the two hostages within 24 hours. It was not known Why Only one hostage was expected in Damascus. It marked the first claim of responsibility for the kidnapping of the two Swiss men by a group since their  statement delivered to the Independent newspaper an Nahar and a Western news Agency came with a photograph of captive Emanuel Christen. He appeared with Short Nair a clipped Beard and a Mustache and looked straight into the camera. Christen 33, was kidnapped oct. 6 along with Elio Erriquez 24, outside the artificial limb Center in South Lebanon sport City of Sidon where the two worked As orthopaedic technicians. Sidon is 25 Miles South of Beirut. Sidon police blamed the two menus abduction on the libyan financed Fatah revolutionary Council faction led by palestinian terrorist Mastermind Abu Nidal. But the group denied the charge. Christen and Erriquez have been among 16 foreigners held hostage in Lebanon since March 1985. Iraq did not hesitate to use chemical weapons during its eight year War with Iran and against its kurdish minority. Iraq overran Kuwait after threatening its Small neighbor for weeks Over a Border dispute. Iraq also said Kuwait a violation of organization of Petroleum exporting countries Oil production quotas amounted to economic War because overproduction kept Oil prices Down. The Conquest of Kuwait drove Oil prices up by about 30 percent and gave Iraq control of 9 percent of world daily Oil production. If Iraq were to conquer saudi Arabia it would raise its share of world Oil production to almost 20 percent. Meanwhile Many governments were drawing up regulations to enforce the anti Iraq Trade embargo ordered monday by the . Security Council at Washington surging. If fully enforced the Boycott could cripple Iraq which depends heavily on its Oil exports for economic survival. In saudi Arabia the iraqi Oil flow was reported slowing to a trickle through a pipeline on saudi territory because of the drop in demand due to the embargo. But the saudis did not immediately announce a shut of of the pipeline apparently not wanting to give Saddam a pretext to invade