The Angolan rebel group, UNITA, says it has released six Russians airmen it captured last June after shooting down their plane over northern Angola.

The UNITA secretary-general, Paolo Lukamba Gato, told the BBC that the men were now on their way to one of Angola's borders.

He said their release followed talks between UNITA and Moscow. Mr Lukamba Gato said UNITA was not holding any other foreigners, although the British authorities had been in touch over a Briton who went missing in Angola. Correspondents say the case is particularly sensitive because Russia is the main weapons supplier to the Angolan government and the rebels have often accused Russian pilots of flying military missions for the government -- an accusation denied by both Luanda and Moscow.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service