Colombian President Alvaro Uribe agreed on Tuesday to suspend military operations in the southeast to allow the deployment of a medical mission to treat French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt.
Uribe said French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked him for "guarantees" to allow a humanitarian mission to go treat Betancourt and other sick hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The mission will be accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Colombian leader told reporters after speaking with Sarkozy by telephone.
"Once relevant authorities are informed by the humanitarian mission about the coordinates of the area where they will be admitted ... we will suspend military action there," Uribe said. "We have expressed our complete agreement to allow this international medical mission to make contact with the hostages and treat them."
Colombian troops are busy looking for the rebel camp where Betancourt and 38 other hostages are thought to be held. Once found, military sources said, a "humanitarian perimeter" would be established and the medical mission would be allowed to proceed.
However, an unnamed military officer stressed that despite rampant speculation "there is no solid information on [Betancourt's] whereabouts."
There has also been no statement from FARC rebels on any imminent hostage release.
Some 7,000 troops and police are taking part in the dragnet in Guaviare State, some 400km south of Bogota, but the sources noted how difficult it is to search a jungle area the size of Croatia, Togo or Costa Rica.
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