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Colombia set for Farc hostage release | Colombia set for Farc hostage release |
(about 21 hours later) | |
An operation has begun in Colombia to collect a group of hostages that the Farc rebels have promised to release. | |
A Brazilian airforce helicopter has set off to pick up the police and military hostages from a secret jungle location. | |
The Farc have promised to free the last 10 members of the security forces they are holding this week, in what mediators have described as a gesture of peace. | |
All the captives have been held for more than a decade. | |
The hostage release is being co-ordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and a group of Colombian mediators led by the former senator Piedad Cordoba. | The hostage release is being co-ordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and a group of Colombian mediators led by the former senator Piedad Cordoba. |
Ms Cordoba has said the releases are a unilateral "gesture of peace" by the Farc that should lead to dialogue. | Ms Cordoba has said the releases are a unilateral "gesture of peace" by the Farc that should lead to dialogue. |
President Juan Manuel Santos has made the release of all hostages one condition for opening talks with the Farc to end five decades of conflict. | |
But he also wants the left-wing group to end all attacks and stop drug trafficking and the recruitment of children. | |
Delay | |
Relatives of the hostages have gathered in the city of Villavicencio in central Colombia, from where the Brazilian helicopter set off. | |
The operation was delayed for several hours by heavy rain | |
The Farc have said they will release the captives - which they call "prisoners of war" - in two groups, on 2 and 4 April. | |
For many years the rebels tried to use captured members of the security forces as bargaining tools to try to secure the release of jailed guerrillas. | For many years the rebels tried to use captured members of the security forces as bargaining tools to try to secure the release of jailed guerrillas. |
But in February, the Farc announced that it would free the last 10 hostages and promised to end the practice of kidnap for ransom. | |
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) have been fighting for power in Colombia since the 1960s. | The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) have been fighting for power in Colombia since the 1960s. |
But over the past decade they have suffered a series of setbacks, losing several top commanders and much of their strength. | But over the past decade they have suffered a series of setbacks, losing several top commanders and much of their strength. |
After drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom has been the group's main source of income, but the practice has drawn national and international condemnation. | After drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom has been the group's main source of income, but the practice has drawn national and international condemnation. |