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Slovaks Arrested in Africa Have Been Released
Friday 03 September 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Addis Ababa/Bratislava, September 3 (TASR) - The Slovak citizens who were seized in the Central African Republic (CAR) by the army on Wednesday have already been released, Slovak ambassador to Ethiopia Milan Dubcek told TASR on Friday.
This information was confirmed by Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Lubos Schwarzbacher. According to him, the arrest of the seven Slovaks was a misunderstanding on the part of the Central African authorities. The Slovaks were in the country legally, on holiday, with all necessary permission from the local authorities, said Schwarzbacher. Slovak diplomats co-operated with the French Embassy to resolve the case.
Pan-African weekly Jeune Afrique said on Thursday that soldiers seized ten Slovaks when they received a delivery of two boxes of weapons and ammunition. They were transferred to police custody in the capital Bangui.
According to media sources close to President Francois Bozize, the Slovaks were thought to be mercenaries trying to destabilise the country. Schwarzbacher resolutely denied such information, adding that the group were only hunters on holiday.
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