Colombia's FARC rebels free eight hostages: ICRC

By Hugh Bronstein

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's FARC guerrillas have released eight hostages in the first such handover since the rebel group was tricked in a military operation to free Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other captives on July 2, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday.

The eight Afro-Colombians were kidnapped last week by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, while traveling on the country's northwestern jungle rivers.

Their release to the Red Cross in the province of Choco appeared to allay concerns about the organization's ability to work effectively in Colombia after its symbol was improperly used by the military in the July rescue.

"The operation was made possible through discreet dialogue between the parties concerned," said Yves Heller, ICRC spokesman in Colombia. "We continue to work as a neutral mediator."

The 44-year-old FARC holds hundreds of Colombians for ransom and political leverage.

The military has pushed the guerrillas onto the defensive this year with a series of strikes using information provided by deserters who are fleeing FARC ranks in record numbers.

"As the FARC starts to fragment we expect to see more kidnappings as individual fronts grow desperate for money," said Cesar Restrepo, an analyst at Security and Democracy, a Bogota think tank.

"If these eight hostages were set free it was only because their families could not pay," Restrepo said.  Continued...