The International Red Cross acted as a neutral mediator on Tuesday in the release of 10 hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The six police officers and four soldiers had all been held for over 12 years.

The hostages were picked up by a Brazilian military helicopter on loan to the Red Cross for the operation. The exchange took place at an airport in Villavicencio, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of the Colombian capital, Bogota.

The FARC had announced the hostages would be released in February, adding that their practice of kidnapping for ransom as a source of income would also be put to an end as a gesture indicating the group's willingness to engage in peace talks.

The Red Cross has assisted in hostage handovers in Colombia before.

"These handovers are possible thanks to the confidential dialogue we maintain with all the parties to the conflict and the recognition the ICRC enjoys in Colombia as a neutral intermediary and facilitator," said Jordi Raich, head of the Red Cross delegation in Colombia, and an interview a few days before Tuesday's planned extraction.

"Our role basically involves acting as a neutral intermediary between the parties, assisting with logistical arrangements, and helping establish the security conditions required for the operation to go ahead," he said.

After the rescue, Raich said it gave his organization "great satisfaction" that the ten families of the hostages could be reunited again.

The FARC is Latin America's oldest guerrilla band, having taken up arms in 1964.

mz/mr (AFP, AP, Reuters)