France Announces Mission to Aid FARC Hostage Betancourt

The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday said Spain and Switzerland are also involved in the mission.

Earlier, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said a mission team to Colombia would include a doctor and special envoys.

Betancourt is believed to be ill with hepatitis B and a skin condition caused by insect bites. Her son, Lorenzo Delloye, says she needs a blood transfusion. She was seized by rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2002 while campaigning for Colombia's presidency.

President Sarkozy made a televised appeal Tuesday for the release of Betancourt, saying she is in danger of dying.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says once the military knows the coordinates of any meeting between the mission and the rebels, he will suspend its operations in the area.

The FARC is holding at least 700 hostages, including three Americans, in secret jungle camps for ransom or political leverage.

Source: By VOA News