Police in Chad released two Finnish and two Swedish peacekeepers taken into custody on Thursday. The peacekeepers will be allowed to return to the base Friday after meeting with local officials for talks. The peacekeepers were surveying the terrain when police seized their equipment and prevented them from returning to their base on Thursday. The group of four stayed in a hotel overnight. Defence Forces say the peacekeepers were detained because local police were unaware of peacekeepers' right to travel in the area. Lieutenant Colonel Reima Helminen said Chad has signed an agreement allowing peacekeepers freedom of movement throughout the country. Sixty Finnish peacekeepers arrived in Chad in March as part of an EU peacekeeping operation. YLE
The article is more than 16 years old