Sudan’s SLA frees 12 members of military, police – Red Cross

Nov 16, 2005 (GENEVA) — The Sudanese Liberation Army has released 12 members of Sudan’s military and police forces who were detained in southern Darfur, the international Red Cross said Wednesday.

The 12 men had been captured several months earlier and held in different locations and were released under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the agency said in a statement.

They were assembled in Muhajaria, South Darfur, before their release. The Red Cross then brought them to the state capital, Nyala, where they were handed over to the Sudanese authorities, the ICRC said.

The detainees had previous been visited by an ICRC team, including a doctor, to make sure they were all returning of their own free will and that they were fully fit to undertake the journey.

The ICRC said that since July, it had facilitated the release of about 480 people in Sudan, most of whom were detained in connection with the civil war in southern Sudan.

(AP/ST)