Two men held in Guantanamo Bay for nearly eight years have been released to Africa, the Pentagon has announced.

五角大楼宣布，在关塔那摩湾被囚禁接近八年的两名男子日期已被释放，回到非洲。

There are 178 detainees remaining at Guantanamo

Abdul Aziz Naji has been repatriated¹ to Algeria - against his will, according to human rights groups, who say he fears persecution²（迫害，烦扰） .

Meanwhile Abd-al-Nisr Mohammed Khantumani, of Syria, has been transferred to the island of Cape³ Verde, West Africa.

There are 178 detainees（未判决囚犯，被关押者） remaining at Guantanamo.

'Militant⁴ threat'

Mr Naji had been held at Guantanamo since 2002. The US government had alleged⁵（宣称） that he belonged to the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group in Pakistan.

But the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights said he has "long been cleared of any connection with terrorism."

"We are deeply concerned that he will disappear into secret detention⁶ and face the threat of persecution by terrorist groups in Algeria," said the centre, which has represented many Guantanamo detainees.

In a statement, the Pentagon said the transfer was coordinated⁷ with the government of Algeria to ensure it took place under "appropriate security measures."

Mr Khantumani, from Syria, is the first Guantanamo inmate⁸ to be resettled on Cape Verde.

He had been detained in Guantanamo along with his father since 2002, when he was only 17, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights. They argued that it was too dangerous to send Mr Khantumani back to Syria.

The transfers bring the number of remaining detainees at Guantanamo to 178, down from 245 when President Obama took office in January 2009.

He vowed⁹ to close the detention centre within a year of his inauguration¹⁰（开始，就职典礼） but was unable to meet his own deadline.

In all, some 780 prisoners have been held at Guantanamo since it opened in 2002.

Foreign suspects were given the right to challenge their detention at Guantanamo in the civilian¹¹ courts in June 2008, by a US Supreme¹² Court ruling.