WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) — Oman accepted a request from the United States to take in 10 inmates from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility “in consideration to their humanitarian situation,” the Omani Foreign Ministry announced Monday.
The transfer of the unnamed detainees is part of an effort by the Obama administration to move and resettle up to 19 inmates to other areas that include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Italy before the end of its term. The transfer brings the total to at least 30 accepted in Oman. There has been no official notice from the U.S. government.
Officials at the Pentagon told CNN that 45 detainees remain at the U.S. naval facility in Cuba. In 2009, President Barack Obama promised to close the facility that once housed some 700 inmates accused of terrorism-related charges. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to keep the facility open and “load it up with some bad dudes.”
The Omani Foreign Ministry said the detainees would “temporarily reside” in the country.
