FARC to release last 10 government hostages starting Monday

GlobalPost

Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has announced it will release its last 10 government hostages, reported CNN. The hostages, some of whom have been held by the rebel group for up to 14 years, will be released this Monday and Wednesday.

More from GlobalPost: FARC ready to free 10 hostages

The Colombian government has forbidden the presence of outsiders during the hostage handover, according to Colombia Reports. Only Colombians for Peace, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Brazilian government, who are all actively taking part in the handover, will be allowed to attend, confirmed the Ministry of Defense.

"We know the families and the loved ones of all these people have been waiting for so long: 12, 13, 14 years, and now is a very difficult moment, a moment of nervousness," said Jordi Raich, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation, to CNN. "Our main message to them is to be patient for two or three more days because this is an extremely complex operation where many people are involved and the key point of it all is to do it in a safe way. Security is an extremely important to us."

The release of the 10 hostages had been promised for many months by the FARC, which was holding out until its demands were met. The guerrilla group still holds an unknown number of civilian hostages, though it promised to stop its regular kidnappings earlier this year.

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