Colombian Marxist rebels said today they would soon free Spanish and German backpackers they kidnapped in September but made no mention of four Israelis and an Englishman they are also holding.
In a communique sent to Reuters news agency, the National Liberation Army said they would release Spaniard Asier Huegun and German Reinhilt Weigel on November 24th.
The rebels, known by their Spanish acronym ELN, kidnapped eight young trekkers on September 12th near the "Lost City," an archeological site in the Sierra Nevada mountains of northern Colombia.
One, 19-year-old Briton Matthew Scott, managed to escape.But the ELN demanded the government allow a humanitarian commission to investigate what they say is a blockade by far right gunmen in the Sierra Nevada as a condition for the release of the other seven.
The government has not commented on talks with the rebels mediated by the Roman Catholic Church but a source close to the negotiations said recently an agreement had been reached.
The guerrillas first said they would free Huegun in October.
But they called off his release after President Alvaro Uribe objected to their demand that the event be witnessed by politicians from Spain's Basque country. Rebels have not reiterated that demand.
The latest communique made no mention of the other hostages: Briton Mark Henderson and Israelis Benny Daniel, Ido Guy, Erez Altawil and Orpaz Ohayon.
"The National Liberation Army will, next Monday November 24, release the Basque citizen Asier Huegun and the German citizen Reinhilt Weigel, who were detained on September 12th," the ELN said, without saying where this would happen.