PERU's hostage crisis entered its 20th day yesterday with 74 hostages held by Marxist rebels praying and singing for freedom, but little sign their wishes would be granted soon.
A Lima newspaper claimed the Peruvian intelligence services are using satellites to spy on the guerrillas holding the Japanese ambassador's residence and are tracking the movements of the group's leaders.
Using infra-red images beamed from the satellite to a laboratory close to the residence, intelligence officers are tracking the movements of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) rebels and the position of mines they have laid, according to Expreso.
"The information establishes that 60 per cent of the MRTA members are on the ground floor, possibly because their leader Nestor Cerpa Cartolini and his lieutenant, `The Arab,' consider that a military intervention would be on the ground," the newspaper said, quoting intelligence sources.
"However, Cerpa has not ruled out an entry of parachute commandos from the upper part of the residence.
About 20 MRTA guerrillas seized the residence on December 17th.
The Expreso report said the satellite images also enabled intelligence officers to see that the rebels were operating a rotation system that allowed five of them to sleep at any one time, for four hours each day.
Cerpa moves constantly around the building, using important hostages such as the Peruvian Foreign Minister, Mr Francisco Tudela, as a "human shield" to avoid being a target for Peruvian security forces, the report added.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Ryutaro Hashimoto, said he feared the deadlocked situation in Lima could get out of hand with the slightest slip by either the Peruvian government or the rebels.
"It will be a protracted battle, and situations like that make me worried about an unexpected accident," Mr Hashimoto told reporters at his official residence.
"There have been miscues on the guerrillas' side and also on the Peruvian government's side," he said, without elaborating.
Mr Hashimoto has firmly stressed since the beginning of the hostage crisis that Tokyo wants a peaceful outcome, buthas also expressed fears that a dramatic rescue attempt could cause bloodshed.
The prime minister cancelled New Year plans so he could monitor the hostage crisis, but today starts a trip to five south east Asian countries, a move officials said reflected Japan's confidence in the government of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori.
"We will continue to place absolute trust in the Peruvian government and handle the crisis carefully," the Foreign Minister, Mr Yukihiko Ikeda, said.
The rebels' hostages include two ambassadors, more than a dozen Japanese businessmen and diplomats, top Peruvian officials and Mr Fujimori's brother Pedro.