BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s president said Tuesday he had approved a French mission to try to meet with hostages held by leftist rebels, including gravely ill politician Ingrid Betancourt.
The mission would be “to protect the deteriorating health of the hostages,” President Alvaro Uribe said.
Betancourt, who holds both French and Colombian citizenship, is being held along with dozens of other hostages by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
In Paris, President Nicolas Sarkozy said he had called Uribe to inform him France was sending a humanitarian mission “without delay to contact the FARC and obtain access to our compatriot.”
Uribe said once Colombia’s military has the coordinates of the location for any meeting between the French delegation and the rebels, it will temporarily suspend military operations in the zone.
Earlier Tuesday, Sarkozy implored the rebels in a televised message to free Betancourt.
