Colombia’s branch of the Red Cross said Wednesday it is willing to facilitate the release of six hostages if guerrilla group FARC and the Colombian government request the aid organization’s assistance.
“As always, we are available to both implicated parties,” Red Cross spokesman Pascal Jequier told Spanish press agency EFE.
“We have done it for many years, for a long time, and we have the experience to do so,” the spokesman added.
The Red Cross has been involved in all unilateral FARC hostage releases over the past few years.
The guerrilla organization announced Tuesday it plans to release six of 11 members of the Colombian security forces held hostage in the jungle, but gave no specifics about the timeframe of the release.
Colombia’s defense minister responded that the government is “willing to do whatever necessary for the releases” and called on the FARC to secure a swift release of the hostages that have been in rebel captivity for over 12 years.
