MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian helicopters for the release of Colombian hostages

The Brazilian army will provide support to groups working on the planned release of six hostages (two politicians, three policemen and a soldier) by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, guerrilla group, Defence Minister Nelson Jobim said Sunday.

"Brazil will provide assistance to the International Red Cross, which is leading this project. We already positioned the Brazilian army to assist in all of this, made the necessary adjustments so that Brazil can cooperate," Jobim told reporters. The FARC, Colombia's oldest and largest Marxist guerrilla group, said last month that it would release the six hostages in the near future. The release date has not been revealed yet for security reasons, Jobim said. Brasilia offered support and helicopters and was selected by the Colombian government and the guerrilla group as a facilitator due to its geographic location. The International Committee of the Red Cross said Saturday that the release would take place on Colombian territory, with opposition Senator Piedad Cordoba and two Red Cross members travelling on aircraft provided by Brazil. The FARC said in December that it would release former Governor Alan Jara and former provincial legislator Sigifredo Lopez, who are the only civilians it is still holding hostage along with the unidentified police and military. Red Cross spokesperson Ives Heller said that one or two Brazilian helicopters, with Brazilian pilots will be involved but "there are logistics organization issues" to consider before any precise date for the recovery can be advanced. FARC suffered a series of blows last year, with the biggest coming on March 2008, when the Colombian army rescued former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, US military contractors Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves, and 11 other Colombian police officers and soldiers. The Marxist rebels have been trying to trade the 15 hostages for hundreds of jailed guerrillas. FARC is on both the US and EU lists of terrorist groups.