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Cameroon rebels release hostages Cameroon rebels release hostages
(about 1 hour later)
Rebels in Cameroon have freed 10 people - mostly French nationals - seized from an oil vessel last month, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says.Rebels in Cameroon have freed 10 people - mostly French nationals - seized from an oil vessel last month, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says.
They were captured off the Bakassi peninsula by a group opposed to the transfer of the oil-rich region from Nigeria to Cameroon.They were captured off the Bakassi peninsula by a group opposed to the transfer of the oil-rich region from Nigeria to Cameroon.
The group had threatened to kill the hostages if Cameroon's government did not talk to them. The rebels had threatened to kill the hostages if Cameroon's government did not talk to them.
There was no word on the circumstances of the release.There was no word on the circumstances of the release.
A spokesman for the French foreign ministry, Frederic Desagneaux, said that the group were being transferred to the capital, Yaounde, for medical checks. A spokesman for the French foreign ministry, Frederic Desagneaux, said that the freed hostages were being transferred to the capital, Yaounde, for medical checks.
"According to our information, they are in good health, even though, obviously, the local conditions of the place where they were (being held), were not the best," he said. "According to our information, they are in good health, even though, obviously, the local conditions of the place where they were [being held], were not the best," he said.
The 10 crew members of the French oil supply vessel include seven French nationals, two Cameroonians and a Tunisian. The French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, thanked Cameroon for its help.
They were seized by gunmen in speedboats on 31 October. A group called the Bakassi Freedom Fighters said it was holding them. "I express my gratitude to the Cameroonian authorities and in particular President Paul Biya, whose constant mobilisation enabled the liberation of the 10 hostages," he said in a statement.
The group opposes Cameroon's takeover of the Bakassi peninsula. French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his "deep relief" at the news.
The seven French nationals, two Cameroonians and a Tunisian, who were working for the French oil company Bourbon, were seized from their ship by gunmen in speedboats off the coast of the Bakassi region on 31 October.
A group called the Bakassi Freedom Fighters said it was holding them. It opposes Cameroon's takeover of the Bakassi peninsula.
Nigeria handed the territory to Cameroon in August 2008, ending a long-standing dispute between the two countries.Nigeria handed the territory to Cameroon in August 2008, ending a long-standing dispute between the two countries.
But the majority of the local population considers itself Nigerian, even though an international court ruled in Cameroon's favour in 2002.But the majority of the local population considers itself Nigerian, even though an international court ruled in Cameroon's favour in 2002.