UN chief to intervene in Colombia?

Peace activists in Colombia say they have asked the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to intervene in the country's faltering peace process.

The head of an organisation called 'Mandate for Peace', Camilo Gonzalez, told the BBC the request was made in a letter to the UN special envoy to Colombia, Jan Egeland.

Mr Egeland is scheduled to visit Colombia later this month.

Mr Gonzalez said the invitation to Mr Annan was an attempt to help the peace process at a difficult time.

Discussions broke down in November after the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, called for tougher government action against right-wing paramilitaries.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service