Red Cross gains access to military hostages in Mali

GENEVA (AFP) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday it has gained access to 79 Malian soldiers held by Tuareg rebels in the country's occupied north.

"ICRC staff spoke with and registered the detainees, and gave them the opportunity to contact their relatives in Bamako and elsewhere by telephone," the Red Cross said in a statement.

In its capacity as a neutral intermediary, the ICRC "will also assist in the transfer of a detainee released for health reasons, who will be handed over to the Malian authorities".

The visits took place on Sunday and Monday in the Tinzaouatene area of northeastern Mali near the Algerian border, where the detainees are being held by Tuareg fighters from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).

A January uprising by the desert nomads for independence overwhelmed the Malian army, and led angry soldiers to oust the government in a March coup.

In the chaos that followed, the rebels and Al Qaeda-linked armed groups seized the north and the jihadists have sinced pushed the Tuareg out of key positions in their bid to create an Islamic state run on strict sharia law.

During the visit, the ICRC also distributed food and messages written to the detainees who have been separated from their families for months.