SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES RELEASE OF ADDITIONAL
300 WAR PRISONERS BY FRENTE POLISARIO
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
The Secretary-General welcomes the release by the Frente POLISARIO, with the assistance of a Member State, of an additional 300 prisoners of war, who were repatriated on 8 November to the Kingdom of Morocco by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).�
The Secretary-General expresses the hope that the Frente POLISARIO will expeditiously release all remaining prisoners, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and in compliance with international humanitarian law.� He also urges the parties to continue to cooperate with the ICRC to resolve the fate of all those unaccounted for since the beginning of the conflict.�
At the same time, the Secretary-General urges the parties to cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who is planning to send a follow-up mission to the region in early December to discuss the implementation of confidence-building measures.
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