The rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Thursday agreed to hand over the bodies of the 11 hostages killed on June 18.
In a recorded message broadcast on national television FARC said it would give the bodies to a commission made up of Red Cross officials, the hostages' family members, international forensic technicians and representatives from France, Spain and Switzerland.
"Together we will have an integrated vision of the circumstances, (to that end) we accept the offer of an international commission with forensic experts...," said a leader of the FARC's Joint Western Command.
The 11 hostages, all of whom were regional lawmakers, were kidnapped in 2002 and died during a government rescue operation on June 18.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has accused the FARC of hanging on to the bodies in order to destroy evidence which would show that the lawmakers were killed by rebels, rather than in crossfire during the rescue operation.
Colombia has been locked in a civil conflict between government forces and leftist guerrillas since the 1960s, the longest in Latin America. The conflict kills more than 3,000 people every year.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article