As religious leaders around the world called for the release of South Korean church volunteers held hostage in Afghanistan, the head of the World Council of Churches visited in mid-August with families of the humanitarian workers caught up in the ongoing fight between the U.S.-backed government and the overthrown Taliban.
Methodist minister Samuel Kobia, WCC general secretary, met August 14 with some of the families while on a trip to South Korea. The day before, the militant Muslims released two women in what the kidnappers called a gesture of good will.