Rebels in Colombia have ended their Christmas holiday ceasefire by launching attacks on three towns near the southern border with Ecuador.

The authorities say at least twenty four people have been killed in fighting between the security forces and the rebels belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

The two huindred-strong rebel force used gas cylinders packed with explosives to destroy buildings and bring down power lines.

Yesterday, the United States announced an economic and military aid package worth more than one-and-a-half billion dollars to help Colombia tackle the drugs trade.

The BBC correspondent in Bogota say Colombian rebel groups are known to earn at least one hundred million dollars a year from cocaine smuggling.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service