Roméo Langlois: Release set by FARC for Wednesday

July 31, 2016

By Jill Langlois

FRANCE 24 journalist Roméo Langlois, 35, is set to be released by Colombia's FARC rebels on Wednesday, according to a statement on the group's website.

"The liberation of French journalist Roméo Langlois will take place next Wednesday, May 30," the 15th front FARC unit, which is holding him, said in the statement, reported Agence France-Presse.

The Colombian guerrillas said Saturday they are willing to release Langlois if their security conditions are met, according to FRANCE 24. The rebels said they are waiting to hear a proposed security plan.

Langlois was captured last month in a FARC attack on Colombian troops that he was accompanying on a counter-narcotics operation, reported CNN. He was injured in the initial attack but is said to be in relatively good health.

According to Fox News, Colombia's defense minister said a witness saw Langlois take off his military-issued helmet and body armor as he moved toward the rebels. The troops he was traveling with had destroyed drug labs in the area and were ambushed after arriving by helicopter.

Latin America's oldest and largest guerrilla movement, the FARC requested the mediation of a committee formed by an envoy from the French government, a representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross and former Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, reported Reuters.

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