Rebels release seven prisoners to ICRC

The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) released seven Sudanese detainees to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on 17 September. An ICRC press release said the detainees had been handed over by the SPLA in Kurmuk, southeastern Sudan, on the border with Ethiopia. With the agreement of the SPLA and the Sudan government, the detainees were then flown from the Blue Nile State to Khartoum in an ICRC plane, said the statement. The detainees had been registered and regularly visited by the ICRC during captivity and, according to ICRC procedure, were going home of their own free will. Meanwhile, the Sudanese news agency, Suna, monitored by the BBC, carried a statement by the secretary-general of the Peace Advisory Office, Muhammad Ata, welcoming the release as a “positive indicator” for the peace process. He said it would promote the peace efforts expected to be exerted during the peace talks due to be held in Nairobi under the auspices of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Nairobi this Thursday. The statement said both sides had taken positive steps towards the release of prisoners, ceasefire agreements and declaration of a general amnesty.