Colombia moots rebel exile

Uribe said the deal offered the rebels a 'path to peace'

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has outlined plans to allow rebels detained for their involvement in atrocities to leave the country if they lay down their arms or agree to participate in the peace process.

He said the proposal, which his administration plans to submit before Congress in July, would encourage rebels to desert guerrilla groups - the biggest of which is the Marxist group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

"Now all we need is for the FARC members to decide which ones want to live forever as professional thugs and which ones retain political decency and are willing to retake the path to peace," El Tiempo newspaper quoted him as saying.

The proposal came as a splinter faction of the country's biggest paramilitary movement gathered in the forest around Colombia's second city, Medellin.

The group's leader said they was preparing to square up to militiamen from the main group in a dispute over participation in the peace process.

Release for peace

Mr Uribe said his proposed release of prisoners would be conditional and would not amount to a pardon or absolution of legal responsibility.

It would not apply to jailed rebels exchanged for kidnap victims, only to rebels in detention serving out prison terms or awaiting trial, he said.

Mr Uribe also said his government would try to ensure the former rebels and their families were protected abroad.

The idea was first proposed in April, but it is only now that the president has confirmed it will go before congress.

France has been touted as one possible recipient of the exiles, but has said the move must be part of a larger peace process.

Paramilitary split

The prospects for peace have been further set back with the development of a feud within the country's largest right-wing paramilitary group that threatens to descend into violence.

Paramilitary leader Rodrigo said his men were 'preparing for war'

Over 1,200 militants of Metro Block, a splinter group of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC), have gathered in the mountains near Medellin and are reportedly preparing for battle.

The fighters have refused to obey the orders of AUC commander Carlos Castano and join in peace talks with the government.

Carlos Castano, who heads 10,000 heavily armed fighters, threatened on Monday to "annihilate" the faction if it did not relent.

Metro Block is now preparing for war, said an Associated Press reporter who visited the group on Tuesday.

The AUC leader has reportedly deployed 1,200 men in the area to attack the splinter group.

Rights 'abuses'

"In this war we are prepared to die for our ideals, even if we must fight against those who were once our allies," said a Metro Block commander, who talked to AP.

Colombia's civil war has dragged on for four decades and claims some 3,500 lives a year.

In its recent annual report, Amnesty International said respect for human rights in Colombia had seen a "marked deterioration" in 2002.

The report was critical of President Uribe, saying the tough security policies he has implemented since taking power last August had only exacerbated the cycle of violence.