3 Apr 2012

Farc frees last police, military hostages

8:40 pm on 3 April 2012

Colombia's leftist Farc rebels have released their last 10 police and military hostages.

All had been held for more than a decade after being captured in combat by the insurgent group.

The captives were collected from the jungle by a Brazilian military helicopter and flown to safety, the BBC reports.

They were welcomed by their relatives at the city of Villavicencio and given medical checks before being flown on to the capital, Bogota.

Television pictures showed them waving and punching the air as they arrived in Bogota.

President Juan Manuel Santos welcomed the releases but says the gesture by the Farc is not enough.

He says the hundreds of civilians still being believed to be held must also be freed.