8 December 1998 SG/SM/6824
SECRETARY-GENERAL, SHOCKED BY REPORTS OF HOSTAGE DECAPITATIONS IN CHECHNYA, CONTINUES EFFORTS TO OBTAIN RELEASE OF VINCENT COCHETEL 19981208The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary- General Kofi Annan:The Secretary-General was shocked to hear news reports that four foreign hostages were found decapitated in Chechnya, a region where kidnappings have become common. Vincent Cochetel of France, who headed the United Nations refugee agency's office in North Ossetia, near Chechnya, was abducted 313 days ago. Efforts to obtain Cochetel's release have yielded no results so far. The Secretary-General met with Mr. Cochetel's family in Paris today and told reporters at a press encounter that he would speak with Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, as part of his ongoing efforts and contacts with Russian officials to try to bring Mr. Cochetel home. * *** *
United Nations
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