Police said troops and guerrillas were still shooting at one another on Tuesday in Doncello, a small town in the southern state of Caqueta.

"In the rest of the country the offensive is over," said the head of Colombia's armed forces, General Fernando Tapias.

Defence Minister Luis Fernando Ramirez said 287 rebels had been killed by government forces and most of the attacks by units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, had ended in failure.

The government earlier branded the rebel onslaught "the biggest and most demented guerrilla offensive" in 40 years.

At least 59 government soldiers and police have been killed during the clashes which took place in more than 20 areas across the country.

Rebels have lifted road blocks in the south of the country and they have freed more than 100 people they had been using as human shields.

Talks next week

The BBC's James Reynolds in Bogota: No quick solutions

General Tapias said the rebels had not succeeded in their aim of putting on a show of force ahead of peace talks due to begin next week.

He said the rebels had mobilised between 12,000 and 15,000 men during the onslaught.

Army commander General Jorge Mora accused the rebels of using child fighters, as he showed reporters the bodies of dead guerrillas which he said included nine girls aged between 12 and 18.

Government troops displayed the bodies of 30 guerrillas allegedly killed in Puerto Lleras, 160km south-east of the capital, Bogota, about a third of them women.

The government has also accused FARC of using a huge "safe haven" it granted the rebels last year as a training ground for attacks.

Kidnapped officers

Fighting between the FARC and the army left many buildings destroyed in Puerto Lleras

Colonel Marino Gutierrez said 37 police officers were also still missing in southern Caqueta province amid fears they have been captured by rebels who took over the town of Puerto Rico.

Bogota police chief Argemiro Serna said he was keeping security tight around the capital.

Dusk-to-dawn curfews imposed by the government also remain in effect in 30% of the country's territory.

During the offensive, the FARC rebels - in alliance with the smaller National Liberation Army (ELN) - bombed banks, blew up bridges and energy installations, blocked roads and attacked police barracks.