Colombia's ELN frees civilian hostage, Red Cross says
A woman holds a figure of a white pigeon during a march for peace through the streets of Cali, Colombia, on October 9, 2016. PHOTO | LUIS ROBAYO | AFP
What you need to know:
National Liberation Army are apparently preparing to open peace talks with government.
International Committee of the Red Cross says the group handed over unnamed hostage in remote area near Colombia-Venezuela border.
Colombia's second-largest guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), freed a civilian hostage Monday, the Red Cross said, the rebels' third such release in recent days as they apparently prepare to open peace talks with the government.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said the ELN handed over the unnamed hostage in a remote area near the Venezuelan border, hours before what was billed as an important announcement on the peace process by the leftist rebels and the government.
The news comes as President Juan Manuel Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, tries to save a peace deal with a larger rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army (Farc), that voters rejected in a referendum.
