The negotiations for releasing four South African security guards abducted in Iraq one week ago went into a deadlock due to disputes over ransom, South African newspaper reported on Sunday.

"Negotiations between the guards' employers, Safenet Security Service, and their abductors seem to be deadlocked because the kidnappers want a bigger ransom than Safenet is prepared to pay," Sunday Independent said.

The four South Africans working on contract to US Defense Department were abducted last Sunday at a roadblock in northern Baghdad while escorting a truck carrying food and water. Five Iraqis kidnapped with the South Africans were released on Tuesday.

The South African Foreign Ministry said that Safenet was negotiating directly with the kidnappers but the government was monitoring developments through its diplomats in neighboring Jordan. South Africa has no official representation in Iraq.

More than 2,000 South Africans are believed to be working on security assignments in Iraq, and this is the first time that South Africans are known to have been abducted.

(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2006)