Colombian army invades rebel safe haven

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.

Two hundred elite soldiers flew into an abandoned army base on the outskirts of San Vicente de Caguan on 10 US-supplied Black Hawk helicopters.

One soldier said the helicopters encountered automatic weapons fire as they approached the town.

Radio reports said the FARC rebels, who have been fighting the government for 38 years, had sabotaged an electricity tower ahead of the invasion, causing a complete black-out in San Vicente.

Yesterday, Colombian President Andres Pastrana ordered his army to re-take the rebel territory after abandoning a long-running peace process.

His decision came after the kidnapping of a senator earlier this week, a crime the government has blamed on the FARC.