Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced Sunday that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) freed General Ruben Dario Alzate and two others kidnapped Nov 16.
“General Alzate, corporal Jorge Rodriguez and attorney Gloria Urrego were freed in perfect condition. They will return to their families as soon as the weather permits,” President Santos wrote in his official twitter account, Xinhua reported.
The three hostages were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) after Cuba and Norway meditated for their release.
According to the FARC, the general and his two companions, a corporal and a lawyer, were captured during routine security operations in western Choco province, as they were crossing a river by boat.
Two other soldiers, captured by FARC Nov 9 in Tame municipality, in northeast Arauca state, were released to the ICRC Tuesday, which paved the way for the following release of the general and his two companions.
The capture of the general, the highest military official ever captured by the rebels, led President Juan Manuel Santos to suspend ongoing peace talks with the rebels aimed at ending the long-running conflict, which has claimed some 200,000 lives.
Following the captives’ release, it is expected that the peace process held in Havana will resume soon.
In an online statement posted by the FARC Sunday, the rebels’ negotiating team in Havana reiterated its demand for an armistice during peace talks.
“It’s time for a bilateral ceasefire, for armistice, so that no bellicose happening in the battlefield justifies interrupting such a beautiful and historic process like that of agreeing peace for a nation which longs for this destiny,” the statement said.
The guerrilla group has made the same demand on various previous occasions, but the request has been repeatedly refused by President Santos.
–IANS