BOGOTA—Colombia's second largest rebel group, the ELN, freed nine hostages Sunday in a rural southern province after holding them for more than two weeks, authorities said.
The release came as President Alvaro Uribe and the country's largest rebel group, the FARC, remained deadlocked over a deal to free scores of their hostages, including French Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans held for more than five years.
The hostages were released to a commission from the Red Cross in Narino province close to Ecuador's frontier, a spokesman for the international agency said.
"During the afternoon, the people who were captured 14 days ago were released," Samaniego municipality mayor, Yamile Montenegro, told reporters.
Violence from Colombia's four-decade-old conflict has eased under President Alvaro Uribe, a Washington ally who has received billions in U.S. aid to fight cocaine traffickers and Marxist rebels involved in Latin America's oldest insurgency.
But FARC—the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - is still fighting in rural areas and authorities say it is holding around 700 hostages for ransom and political leverage, including around 45 they want to swap for jailed rebels.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez recently brokered the release of two high-profile FARC hostages, though a dispute over his role in negotiations has fueled tensions with Uribe.
Families of kidnap victims hope that release could signal the freeing of other FARC hostage.
The ELN, or National Liberation Army, is involved in fledging peace talks with Uribe's government, but little progress has been made to determine key elements to any accord.
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