Annan calls for liberation of Moroccan POWs still held by separatists in Algeria

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan called for the liberation of all Moroccan prisoners who are still detained in Algeria.

Annan hailed the release of 243 Moroccan prisoners who were held in Algeria and their repatriation to Morocco by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The UN chief exhorted, nonetheless, "parties to continue cooperation with the ICRC to determine the fate of all those who have disappeared since the outset of the conflict," the Secretary General's spokesman said Monday.

On Monday, the ICRC reiterated a call for the "immediate" release of the "914" remaining prisoners detained by the "Polisario" in the Tindouf camps (southwestern Algeria).

It also expressed concern about the deteriorating health of the detained.