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Government frees POWs

    ABIDJAN

    Guinea Bissau freed 177 prisoners of war on Wednesday, in a measure it said was designed to move former civil war foes toward reconciliation, news reports said.

    The prisoners, all of junior rank, were released at a ceremony in the Bissau headquarters of the former army mutineers who toppled President Joao Bernardo Vieira in May.

    Quoting officials, Reuters said more prisoners would be released in a few days. These would not include senior officers loyal to Vieira, who are were being held far from the capital, Bissau.
    Originally 307 soldiers were reportedly due for release but the number was scaled down, the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, reported.

    It did not say why.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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