Colombian rebels seeking hostage exchange

Colombian guerrilla leaders holding seven tourists hostage said today they wanted to exchange the seven foreign backpackers for imprisoned rebels, but they did not make it a requisite for freeing the tourists.

Speaking by telephone from a rebel hideout, Pablo Beltran, the leader of the National Liberation Army, said that a Briton, four Israelis, a German and a Spaniard were all in good health.

Gunmen from the rebel group, known as the ELN, seized the tourists from ancient jungle ruins in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains on September 12.

An eighth hostage, Briton Matthew Scott, later escaped by hurling himself down a precipice and has since returned home.

When asked if he would accept a prisoner exchange, Beltran said: “Of course.”

“We have comrades in prison, the majority of whom are very sick, and we would like to have them included in an exchange,” Beltran said.

However, when asked what exactly were the group’s demands, the rebel leader reiterated an earlier call for human rights groups and other non-governmental organizations to visit the Sierra Nevada to take a firsthand look at the plight of impoverished villagers.

Last week, a Roman Catholic Church delegation headed to the Sierra Nevada to try to negotiate the hostages’ release after accepting a formal request from the government to act as a mediator in the kidnappings.

Government troops and Black Hawk helicopters have been scouring the snowcapped mountains for signs of the tourists, but they have yet to pinpoint their location.

Colombia’s army chief has vowed to launch a rescue operation.

The foreigners are believed to be facing immense hardship and hunger as they trek at gunpoint through the thick jungles to evade army pursuers.