BOGOTA, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- A Colombian army general captured in rebel-controlled territory two weeks ago was freed, along with two others, by left-wing rebels Sunday, signaling a possible restart to halted peace talks in Havana between the Colombian government and the rebels.
General Ruben Dario Alzate, along with an army lawyer and a corporal, were detained on Nov. 16 by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, otherwise known as FARC. The three wore no uniforms and traveled by boat on a river frequented by drug smugglers and rebel forces. It remains unclear what they were doing there.
On Sunday Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced over his Twitter account the release of Alzate and two other hostages, saying they were in "perfect condition."
The International Committee of the Red Cross as well as Norwegian and Cuban negotiators mediated the general's release, which occurred almost two weeks after the FARC confirmed his capture on Nov. 18.
A day after the incident, Santos suspended peace talks with the rebels that had been taking place in Havana since 2012. Santos demanded Alzate's release and the military to investigate why he broke protocol by going into rebel territory.
A boat driver who accompanied Alzate and the other two escaped detention and said the general was inspecting an energy facility in the region. FARC leaders denied the existence of such a facility and expressed equal confusion as to Alzate's reasons for the venture, though they released a statement saying the general and his companions were "enemy military personnel carrying out their functions in a war zone."
Alzate -- who commands a 2,500-soldier counterinsurgency group and is former head of the army's anti-kidnapping unit -- is the first general to be captured by the FARC in the five decades-old civil war.
FARC leaders have called for a ceasefire in order to avoid similar incidents in the future, but Santos refused and pointed out a previous incident in the 1999-2002 peace talks, when rebel forces took advantage of a ceasefire to seize territory.
Al Jazeera reports negotiators from both the FARC and the Colombian government will meet once again in Havana on Monday, but it is not clear exactly when peace talks will continue.
