Rebels to free 10 Malian soldiers
2007-12-29 08:57
Algiers - Tuareg rebels in northern Mali will free within the next 48 hours 10 of 34 Malian soldiers they took hostage in August, Algeria's APS press agency reported late on Friday.
"The prisoners belonging to the Malian army should be freed within 48 hours by the North Mali Movement for Change (MNMC) and will be handed over to official authorities in Tinezaouatene, on the Algerian-Malian border," APS said, citing a "good source".
MNMC spokesperson Sid Ahmed Hama-Age said on Thursday that the soldiers would be released by Sunday or Monday at the latest as a "gesture" to unblock peace talks with the Malian government.
Malian officials previously predicted the release would take place on Friday, with the other 24 men to be freed "soon," thanking Libyan mediation.
Mali's insurgents among the Tuareg desert people are led by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga. His men clashed with the army this year after he formed a breakaway faction from a majority of rebels who opted for peace and signed pacts with the government in Algeria.
Algeria has been mediating in the latest uprising, along with Libyan leader Colonel Moamer Kadhafi, who has influence with the Tuareg people, traditional nomads of the Sahara in several north African and Sahel nations.
In September, Ag Bahanga released a first hostage group of five civilians and two soldiers following Algerian mediation.