Colombia's Farc rebels last night freed two more long-held hostages to a Red Cross commission, the latest hand-over in a week in what the paramilitary group called a humanitarian gesture.
The Farc or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has freed a total of six kidnap victims, including the latest two, though President Juan Manuel Santos says they must release all hostages and cease hostilities before talks to end the country's decades-old war.
An International Committee of the Red Cross team flew by helicopter into remote area in southwest Colombia, where the Farc freed police major Guillermo Solorzano and army corporal Salin Antonio Sanmiguel, both captive for more than two years.
"The Farc-EP has freed them in a rural area between Cauca and Valle de Cauca provinces," the Red Cross said in a statement.
The men appeared in good health when they arrived in a truck at the pick-up point in Cauca province before they were flown to Cali and then back to the capital Bogota.
Battered by a US-backed security drive, the Farc is at its weakest in decades after losing top commanders and its ranks have been depleted by desertions. But rebels remain a threat in rural areas where state presence is weak and cocaine trafficking allows guerrillas to finance their operations.
Mr Solorzano was kidnapped three years and eight months ago by a Farc commando team when he was off duty and Mr Sanmiguel was captured after combat with Farc rebels nearly three years ago.
Rebels are still holding 15 police and soldiers for political leverage. But they freed two politicians and two military officers over the last week in what they said was a gesture to show their willingness to work toward peace.
The release of the latest two hostages had been delayed after government said the Farc had given the wrong coordinates for the pickup, fuelling speculation rebels had tried to gain a strategic advantage from the temporary halt in military operations in the area of the planned handover.
Reuters