Twelve detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay on the island of Cuba, were transferred to Afghanistan, Yemen and Somaliland, announced the U.S. Department of Justice.
Six Yemeni detainees and four Afghans were returned this weekend in their respective countries and two Somalis were handed over to authorities in Somaliland, an enclave of north-western Somalia that declared its "independence" in 1991.
These transfers are part of the policy decision of U.S. President Barack Obama to close Guantanamo as of January 22, 2010, a deadline that is likely not to be respected because many diplomatic and political barriers.
"These transfers were made through individual agreements between U.S. and foreign competent authorities to ensure that transfers take place under conditions of adequate security," said the Ministry of Justice in a statement.
With these transfers, there remains today that 198 Guantanamo inmates, regarded by the United States, as "enemy combatants".
Some of them may be tried in U.S. courts by civil or military.
Others should be transferred abroad.