GUERRILLAS in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have freed a Swedish hostage after 45 days of captivity in exchange for a second-hand Volvo truck, the Swedish television news programme Rapport said on Saturday. The evening newspaper Expressen said Bjoern Rugsten, 33, was freed by the Mai Mai group thanks to the mediation of the Norwegian charity Christian Relief Network (CRN). The TV report said Rugsten was being taken by road to the Ugandan capital Kampala, where his wife and two children were waiting for him. Expressen said it had been able to speak with Rugsten, who is a shipowner, and he had told them he had not been ill-treated by the group. Rugsten was kidnapped on May 16 along with a group of either 24 or 25 Thai nationals working for a Thai timber company. Seven of the Thais were released in June, and 18 are believed to be still held by the group, which supports the central government in Kinshasa and opposes the rebel groups that control most of the east of the vast country. – AFP
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