The hostages were taken in the south of the northern Bolivar province.

BBC: Colombia's ELN rebels kidnap five mine workers

The five mine workers released by the leftist ELN (National Liberation Army) were also seized in January, in a dawn attack on a mining company in Bolivar province in northern Colombia.

BBC: Colombian Farc releases two hostage policemen

Since their arrival the refugees have been calling for a meeting with Colombia's new president, Andres Pastrana, and with senior government officials to discuss not only their immediate plight, but long-term proposals for restoring calm to Barrancabermeja and Bolivar province.

ECONOMIST: The Colombian clearances

Images of the bombardment showed a swathe of jungle flattened and blackened, where the planes of the Colombian air force had bombed a Farc camp in the Montes de Maria area, in the Caribbean province of Bolivar.

BBC: Aerial attack kills 13 Farc rebels in Colombia