A Colombian government official on Sunday denied that Colombian army operations have delayed the return of four hostages freed by leftist guerrillas earlier in the day.
Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo, dismissed the assertion by a member of the humanitarian delegation receiving the hostages that army operations in the jungle have delayed their return to Villavicencio.
"We will not allow people to launch unfounded accusations," Restrepo told reporters, after humanitarian delegation member Jorge Botero told Venezuela's Telesur television earlier that the delay was expected to last several hours.
The captives, three police officers and a soldier, were handed over to the humanitarian delegation in Colombia's southern jungle and were initially supposed to arrive in Villavicencio, 90 kilometers (56 miles) southeast of Bogota, by midday.
They are part of a group of six hostages the Marxist rebels have promised to free by Wednesday.
Source: AFP Global Edition
