Several Hundred Loyal to Ceausescu Still on the Loose

BUCHAREST, Romania —  Thousands of security forces loyal to Nicolae Ceausescu have surrendered or been captured in the week since the dictator was overthrown, but several hundred remain in hiding, a government official said today.

The prisoners include some generals and high-ranking officers from the security force, known as the Securitate, Deputy Foreign Minister Cornelieu Bogdan said. The total number was not immediately disclosed.

Several hundred hard-line holdouts remain at large in defiance of the government’s ultimatum to surrender or die, said Cazimir Ionescu, a vice president of the National Salvation Front.

The revolutionary government had given members of Ceausescu’s despised security police until Thursday to surrender or face execution.