Colombian rebels free four hostages

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

SAN JOSE DE GUAVIARE, Colombia (AFP) — Colombian rebels on Wednesday freed four former lawmakers held hostage for more than six years, handing them over to representatives of the Red Cross and Venezuela, officials said.

Two Venezuelan MI-17 helicopters painted with Red Cross symbols picked up the hostages in the southern Colombian jungle, in an operation authorized by Bogota, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

Colombia's ICRC chief, Barbara Hintermann, said she was "very happy" with the outcome, adding that the four were in satisfactory physical health.

It was the second such joint Red Cross-Venezuelan mission in as many months.

In January, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas released two women under...