Peruvian authorities arrested a former army major who led a three-day uprising in a southern Andean town, and vowed Tuesday to storm the police station where his followers remained holed up.

With the southeastern farm town of Andahuaylas under a dusk-to-dawn curfew, Peruvian troops surrounded the police post and Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero warned: "We cannot wait too long."

The group's leader, Antauro Humala, was arrested late on Monday.

Afterwards, a man identifying himself as a former army commando now in charge of 150 remaining rebels, told RPP radio there were "armed people prepared to die here."

He said the insurgent group -- which killed four police officers in clashes on Sunday -- were holding 19 hostages, including four Army commandos and 10 police officers.

They were willing to negotiate an 8 AM (13:00 GMT on Monday) surrender, he said, but would only lay down their arms in daylight because "all sorts of things can happen at night."

Ferrero told a news conference that Humala -- who called President Alejandro Toledo corrupt and demanded his resignation -- was detained without a fight during talks with Peru's Police Chief, Felix Murazzo.

"He is now in a safe place outside the city," Ferrero said, "One of his followers was arrested with Antauro Humala."

Authorities declared a state of emergency in Andahuaylas, some 900 kilometres southeast of Lima, on Saturday and sent 1,000 police and troops to restore order. At least six people have been killed in clashes.

Ferrero said the government rejected Humala's demands, including a partial handover of the police hostages and a surrender of stolen weapons at an unacceptable date.

Humala had been holding the police hostage since he marched into the police post before dawn on New Year's Day. He said he had also captured five government snipers.

Humala's nationalist group, inspired by the ancient Inca empire, a 19th century war hero and a general who took power in 1968, are veterans of Peru's wars with Ecuador and leftist rebels in the 1990s.

Humala said one student and one of his men were killed in a government offensive on Monday.

Ferrero said: "We cannot leave the murder of four police officers unpunished ... We have committed to respecting their lives and we guarantee to do so if they turn themselves in peacefully, but we cannot wait too long either."

(China Daily January 5, 2005)