Cameroon rebels release hostages

Mr Sarkozy thanked his Cameroonian counterpart, Paul Biya, for his help

Rebels in Cameroon have freed 10 people - mostly French nationals - seized from an oil vessel last month.

They were captured off the Bakassi peninsula by a group opposed to the transfer of the oil-rich region from Nigeria to Cameroon.

The rebels had threatened to kill the hostages if Cameroon did not re-open talks on the region's status.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his relief and thanked the Cameroonian government for its help.

The freed hostages were employed by the French shipping group, Bourbon.

The 10 men were in good health and safe in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde, according to the company's website.

Bourbon said eight of the crew members - seven French citizens and a Tunisian - would be returning to Paris as soon as possible to be reunited with their families and friends.

The two other men taken hostage were from Cameroon.

A French official in Paris told the AFP news agency that no ransom had been paid to the kidnappers, and that the release of the hostages followed discussions involving the Cameroonian authorities.

"There was no rescue operation," the official added.

Families' relief

The wife of the vessel's kidnapped captain said she was overjoyed at the news.

"I'm so happy, I wasn't expecting this," exclaimed Mayrise Tallec who was contacted by AFP from her home in the French fishing port of Concarneau.

"There were negotiations going on, but it was very quick."

The men were seized from their ship by gunmen in speedboats off the coast of the Bakassi region on 31 October.

A group called the Bakassi Freedom Fighters said it was holding them.

Nigeria handed the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon in August 2008, ending a long-standing dispute between the two countries.

But the majority of the local population considers itself Nigerian, even though an international court ruled in Cameroon's favour in 2002.