Colombian president breaks off 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.

In a nationally televised address, Pastrana gave the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia until midnight to abandon the vast safe haven he granted them at the beginning of the process.

The military began immediate preparations to retake the Switzerland-sized area of jungle, mountains and cattle ranches in southern Colombia. Tanks were seen moving through the streets of Bogota, and General Euclides Sanchez, the second in command of the army, was named to head the operation.

The Farc issued a statement at midnight saying Pastrana’s decision to end the peace process would only lead to more bloodshed.

‘‘With this rupture, the government shows yet again it is dedicated to war,’’ a brief statement said.

Television reporters based inside the safe haven said the rebels had largely disappeared from view, and many residents were shown leaving.

Many fear an end to the peace process will spark a new and bloodier phase in Colombia’s 38-year-old civil war - which pits the US-backed military and a brutal right wing paramilitary group against the Farc and smaller guerrilla factions.

The highly organised hijacking angered a nation already fed up with peace talks that have gone nowhere, and appeared to be the last straw for Pastrana.

‘‘It’s not possible to sign agreements on one side while putting guns to the heads of innocent people on the other,’’ Pastrana said.

Four rebels dressed as civilians and armed with handguns seized control of the Aires airlines flight, forcing it to fly into southern Colombia.

Camouflage-clad rebels met the plane as it landed on a narrow road near the town of Hobo. The waiting rebels then whisked away Senator Jorge Gechen Turbay, 50, president of the Colombian Senate’s peace commission.

The guerrillas blew up a bridge and planted land mines to stop security forces chasing them. The remaining 29 passengers and crew were freed unharmed.