Colombia's ELN Rebels
Free Nine Hostages
Nine hostages held by
Colombia's rival armed
group National
Liberation Army (ELN) on
Sunday were freed and
handed over to the
International Commission
of the Red Cross, local
officials said.
The ELN handed over the
hostages, seven male
truck drivers kidnapped
on Jan. 2 and two women
whose identities
remained unclear, in a
rural area of Samaniego,
said Antonio Navarro,
governor of the Narino
province, adding that
all the hostages are in
good conditions.
Samaniego municipality
Mayor Yamile Montenegro
told reporters "During
the afternoon, the
people who were captured
14 days ago were
released."
The 4,500-troop ELN is
Colombia's
second-largest guerrilla
group after the
Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC),
with 31,000 troops.
The ELN has held
intermittent peace talks
with the government
since December 2005 in
Havana, Cuba. Bogota has
asked the ELN to end
kidnapping and release
all hostages it held,
estimated at more than
400.
The release came as the
Colombian government and
the FARC remained
deadlocked over a deal
to free scores of their
hostages.
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