Oman has taken in 10 detainees from Guantanamo Bay, the sultanate’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced.
The unnamed detainees will remain there “for a temporary residency and out of consideration of their humanitarian situation,” the ministry said in a statement reported by the state-run Oman News Agency.
The inmates were accepted in response to a request by the US government, the news agency reported. The transfer will bring the total number of detainees accepted by Oman to at least 30.
Four Yemenis were sent there in January 2015, six more in June 2015, and another 10 Yemenis in January 2016.
The Ministry statement did not disclose the nationalities of the latest group.
A defense official at the Pentagon confirmed to CNN that 45 detainees now remain at the naval facility in Cuba. The official declined to provide further details on the transfer to Oman.
The news comes as President Barack Obama’s term nears its end. Obama had pledged to close the controversial center within one year in an executive order he signed shortly after his inauguration in January 2009.
However, President-elect Donald Trump has warned against moving any more prisoners from Guantanamo, which is nicknamed Gitmo.
“There should be no further releases from Gitmo. These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield,” Trump tweeted on January 3.
