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Johannesburg - The release of three out of 12 Denel employees kidnapped in southern Senegal was welcomed by the company on Tuesday.
"Denel welcomes the release of three employees who were taken hostage in southern Senegal and will work with international agencies to secure the freedom of the remaining nine workers," spokeswoman Vuyelwa Qinga said in a statement.
"The company has been informed that the three female employees were released and will soon be reunited with their families."
The Associated Press (AP) news agency reported Monday that the employees, abducted on May 3 by rebels, were handed over, also on Monday, in the village of Kassolol near the southern city of Ziguinchor.
The employees were being driven to the capital of neighbouring Guinea-Bissau, local politician Robert Sagna told AP.
Sagna said that negotiations were ongoing for the release of the nine others, who he said were being held by Cesar Atoute Badiate, a rebel leader with the MFDC, AP reported.
Qinga said the group of 12 - all Senegalese citizens - were taken while performing humanitarian de-mining services in the Casamance province of Senegal.
Denel was responsible for clearing areas of landmines and unexploded ordnance. They also provided landmine awareness programmes to local communities.
"The demining takes place under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Senegalese National Demining Authority," said Qinga.
The company expressed its appreciation for the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UNDP, and the Senegalese government to secure the hostages' release.
Through the ICRC, Denel had been able to provide the captured workers with clean clothes, bedding and hygiene products, and relayed messages from their families.
"The reports from the ICRC indicate that they are unharmed and in good spirit," said Qinga.
