French President Nicolas Sarkozy today asked Colombia to halt military operations against Farc guerrillas to help a "humanitarian mission" secure access to hostage Ingrid Betancourt, who he said was close to death.
Mr Sarkozy telephoned Colombian President Alvaro Uribe shortly after making a televised appeal addressed to Farc leader Manuel Marulanda urging him to release the 46-year-old mother of two.
"He told (Uribe) of his intention to send a humanitarian mission without delay to make contact with the Farc and obtain access to their fellow-countrywoman," Mr Sarkozy's office said in a statement, without giving any further details on the mission.
"He asked the Colombian president to suspend all form of military operations to ensure the security and success of this mission." Mr Uribe said Colombia would halt military operations in the area once the mission provided coordinates of the area where it would treat hostages who are sick after years in jungle camps.
"President Sarkozy has told me the humanitarian mission is in movement to attend to the health of the hostages," Mr Uribe said in Bogota. It was unclear if the French mission had started. "Once authorities are informed by the mission about the coordinates ... we will allow this mission to do its work."
Any successful mission to treat the captives would be the first contact for years with some of the hostages, whom Farc rebels say they want to exchange for jailed guerrilla fighters. Betancourt has joint French and Colombian nationality.
Mr Sarkozy's televised appeal to the Farc, in French with Spanish subtitles, underlined the importance attached to the case in France, where Ms Betancourt's photograph is displayed on town halls as a reminder of her six-year ordeal.
"The latest information reaching us regarding Ingrid Betancourt is profoundly worrying," he said in a statement broadcast on French television and addressed to Farc leader Manuel Marulanda.
"Ingrid is in danger of imminent death. She no longer has the strength to resist an interminable captivity which is turning into tragedy," Mr Sarkozy said.
"You, who lead the Farc, you have a rendezvous with history. Don't miss it. Free Ingrid Betancourt and the weakest hostages".
According to a support committee spokesman, Ms Betancourt is believed to have begun a hunger strike on February 23rd. "She began a hunger strike more than a month ago.
A hunger strike in favourable surroundings is very dangerous. In the jungle, it's fatal," Arnaud Mangiapan told reporters at the French president's palace.
"It's obvious that for Ingrid, it's a matter of absolute urgency now," he said. Attempts to secure a deal to free hostages, who also include three Americans, are deadlocked over a rebel demand that Uribe demilitarize an area in the south of Colombia for a safe haven to facilitate talks.
But the Farc has released six captives in a deal brokered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.