News Briefs

January 26, 1996
Web posted at: 11:55 p.m. EST (0455 GMT)

Turkey's political crisis deepens

ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkey's political crisis worsened Friday as the right-wing Motherland Party rejected an offer by caretaker prime minister Tansu Ciller to set up a coalition government with a rotating premiership.

The deadlock leaves Turkey uncertain about its next government, but paves the way for talks between the Motherland Party and the pro-Islamic welfare party.

Ciller had offered a rotating premiership, with her taking the first term.

The offer was a bid to break the political stalemate after elections last month failed to give any one party a majority. The pro-Islamic Welfare Party won the most seats, but not enough to form a government.

Motherland Party's leader Mesut Yilmaz said his party could not agree to be part of a coalition with Ciller's True Path Party, as it held her responsible for Turkey's problems, particularly high inflation, unemployment, and foreign debts.

Dudayev opponent kidnapped near rebel-held town

GROZNY, Russia (CNN) -- A prominent critic of Chechen separatist leader Dzhokhar Dudayev was kidnapped Friday while returning home from a rebel-held town.

Lecha Saligov was abducted just yards from a Russian roadblock near Grozny and was with his wife and children, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.

The agency said Saligov's family was left by the side of the road unharmed.

Dudayev was dislodged as president in last month's Moscow-imposed elections in Chechnya. Saligov was one of several candidates for the leadership post.

The head of the new Chechen government, Sanaki Arbiyev, told ITAR-Tass he suspected Dudayev loyalists had kidnapped Saligov.

The Chechen war began in December 1994 when the Kremlin dispatched tens of thousands of troops to end the mostly Muslim region's three years of self-proclaimed independence. The war has claimed up to 30,000 lives and uprooted more than 600,000 people.

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Israel settles up for botched Mossad killing in Norway

OSLO, Norway (CNN) -- Israel consented Friday to compensate the wife and children of a Moroccan waiter killed by Israeli Mossad agents who believed him to be the PLO terrorist who engineered the 1972 attack on Israel's Olympic team.

The amount of compensation was not released, but Norwegian state radio said it was at least $235,000.

Agents for Israel's Mossad intelligence service apparently mistook Ahmed Bouchikhi for Hassan Salameh, the PLO intelligence chief charged with masterminding a plot that killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.

Bouchikhi was gunned down in 1973 while walking home from the movies with his pregnant wife in the Norwegian town of Lillehammer.

Five suspects, later identified as Mossad agents, served brief prison terms in connection with the shooting before being pardoned.

Yemeni tribesmen kidnap 17 French tourists

PARIS (CNN) -- Yemeni tribesman kidnapped at least 17 French tourists and demanded the release of a comrade jailed for the abduction of an American last September, the French Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

French officials said Yemeni authorities were negotiating with the kidnappers for the hostages' safe release.

Yemeni security officials told Reuters that the tourists had been abducted Thursday by members of the Doman tribe who were demanding the release of fellow tribesman Zubein Doman.

Zubein Doman is awaiting trial for the September abduction of an American an employee of a U.S. oil company who was released later in September.

The incident on Thursday was the second time this year that Yemeni tribes have taken foreigners hostage. Earlier this month, tribesmen held an American and three unidentified colleagues for four days before releasing them.

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