One of the star witnesses in the case against three Irishmen accused of training Colombian rebels in terrorist techniques refused to testify today because he said he feared for his life.

Prosecutors in the trial of three men accused of training rebels in Colombia are set to present more witnesses this week to try to prove the men trained rebels in the jungles of southern Colombia.

Colombia rebels have technology they could only have obtained from abroad, it was claimed last night as three suspected IRA members went on trial accused of training the Marxist guerillas in terrorist tactics.

The trial opened today of two IRA men and a senior Sinn Fein official who are accused of training Colombian Marxist rebels in terror tactics.

Irish politicians and lawyers have arrived in Colombia to observe next week’s trial of three suspected IRA members charged with training left wing rebels.

Two suspected IRA members and another man linked to the group, who are accused of giving terror training to Colombian rebels, will have their futures determined by a judge today.

A judge was today due to decide whether three IRA suspects accused of training guerrillas in Colombia should stand trial.

A lone judge will tomorrow decide the fate of two suspected IRA members and a veteran of the terror group who have been waiting for more than a year to find out whether they will become free men – or spend up to 20 years in a Colombian prison.

Leftist guerrillas in Colombia have taken a presidential candidate hostage after abducting her at a roadblock as she was driving into an area where government troops are trying to oust the rebels.

A candidate in Colombia's presidential elections has been reported missing after she failed to arrive at a former rebel-controlled town occupied by the army.

The Colombian army has invaded the largest town in a Switzerland-sized safe haven ceded to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as part of a now-defunct peace process.

President Andres Pastrana broke off the peace process with left wing rebels last night, hours after guerrillas hijacked a jetliner and kidnapped a prominent senator.

Colombian President Andres Pastrana has ended the country's peace process saying an 11th-hour proposal from rebels "is not sufficient."

The Colombian military has made preparations to retake a rebel safe haven after President Andres Pastrana said the rebels had broken off peace talks and gave them 48 hours to leave the region.

Colombia last night deported an Irishman who had been in a rebel safe haven, amid jitters in Colombia after three suspected members of the IRA were arrested for allegedly training the guerrillas in explosives.

Suspected right-wing paramilitary fighters kidnapped as many as 207 workers off palm oil plantations in Colombia in what the army described as the country’s biggest mass kidnapping.