US demands hostages be freed

Quito - At least 10 people, including five US and two French nationals, were kidnapped in Ecuador yesterday by left-wing rebels…

Quito - At least 10 people, including five US and two French nationals, were kidnapped in Ecuador yesterday by left-wing rebels based in Colombia, Ecuador's acting president said.

A spokesman for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) denied responsibility and pinned blame instead on US intelligence services. In Washington, a US State Department spokesman, Mr Philip Reeker, demanded the hostages be liberated "immediately and unconditionally".

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