Five British embassy staff kidnapped in Ethiopia have been released.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said said they were released in neighbouring Eritrea and were undergoing medical checks.
The three British men, one Italian-British woman and a French woman all have links to the British diplomatic community in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
"All five were released earlier today to the Eritrean authorities and have just arrived in the care of our embassy in (the Eritrean capital) Asmara," Ms Beckett told reporters. "I understand that broadly they are all in good health."
They were seized 12 days ago by armed attackers while travelling in Ethiopia's remote northeast Afar region. Eight Ethiopians assisting the Europeans were also taken hostage but their fate remained unclear, Ms Beckett said.
A spokesman for the British government said Britain had not paid a ransom to secure their release which came as a "result of a process of dialogue".
Regional officials and Afar locals had said the hostages were marched into Eritrea, something Asmara denied.
Ms Beckett said there were varying reports as to where the hostages had been held but "certainly they were released with the help of the Eritrean government".
Asked whether they had been kidnapped by Afar separatist rebels, Ms Beckett said: "That has been the thinking earlier, but I haven't heard anything to confirm that since they were released."