France sends diplomat, doctor to Colombia for Betancourt (Roundup)

Apr 3, 2008, 15:15 GMT

Bogota/Paris - A group including a former French consul and doctors arrived in Colombia early Thursday on a humanitarian mission to provide medical assistance to kidnap victim Ingrid Betancourt.

Former Colombian presidential candidate Betancourt, 46, who holds dual French-Colombian citizenship, was kidnapped by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in February 2002. She is reportedly very ill, suffering from hepatitis B and leishmaniasis, among other health problems.

The French government announced late Wednesday that the mission, also backed by Spain and Switzerland, had begun. The French Air Force plane, a Falcon 50, arrived at the Catam military base in Bogota in the early hours of Thursday.

The mission was reportedly awaiting from the rebels the coordinates of where they could find Betancourt and other sick hostages. FARC have given no indication of their will to cooperate.

Betancourt's ex husband Fabrice Delloye, the father of the woman's two children, told Colombian radio station Caracol from Paris that the delegation includes envoys of the French and Swiss governments, as well as two doctors charged with treating Betancourt.

'We all know that this is a very important mission, and it is only missing contact with FARC. We need discretion in order to guarantee the security of everyone involved,' he said.

An aeroplane with medical provisions had been standing by since last weekend to head to Colombia.

Betancourt's son Lorenzo Delloye, who lives in France, made a desperate 'last appeal' on Wednesday to FARC for his mother's release.

FARC is believed to have 740 hostages, and Betancourt is the most high-profile among them. The group has been in talks to exchange 40 of the hostages - soldiers, police officers and politicians - for 500 of their members currently in prison.

Last week, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe reiterated that his government was ready to exchange FARC rebels for Betancourt and other hostages.