Colombian rebel group FARC releases eight hostages
25/7/2008 16:37
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has released eight
people that were kidnapped two weeks ago and handed them over to a branch of the
International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC) in Choco state, the Colombian
Army announced yesterday.
The people were released "under the pressure made
by the army in the sector of Puerto Palacio," General Juan Rodriguez, commander
of the 7th division of the army, said.
However, Victor Mosquera, civil
defense director for the Choco state in western Colombia, said FARC released
these people "voluntarily."
The eight Afro-Colombians were kidnapped last
week while traveling on the country's northwestern jungle rivers.
An ICRC
spokesperson said the release came after discreet dialogue between the parties
concerned and the ICRC will continue to work as a neutral mediator.
This was
the first such hostage handover since FARC, Colombia's largest anti-government
group, was tricked in a hostage-rescue operation by the army on July 2 during
which disguised Colombian soldiers arrived at a FARC camp and told the guards
that FARC's top leader wanted to see the hostages.
The masqueraded army then
took them all aboard a helicopter and revealed their true identity. The freed
included politician Ingrid Betancourt, who has French-Colombian citizenship, and
three US citizens.
Xinhua
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