Colombia offers new prisoner swap

Uribe had previously refused to negotiate with rebels

Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe has offered to negotiate a prisoner swap with the country's largest rebel group.

Mr Uribe said he was willing to free Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) rebels in jail on minor charges in return for the release of hostages.

He said the government would then hold talks with the Farc to negotiate a wider exchange of prisoners.

It follows an offer made by Mr Uribe in July to release 50 Farc fighters in return for kidnap victims.

Several conditions were attached to the offer, details of which were released in August, and the rebels turned it down.

Policy reversal

Government negotiator Luis Carlos Restrepo said the president was offering the initial release of 15 jailed guerrillas in exchange for 15 Farc hostages, the AFP news agency reported.

Farc negotiators would be brought to and from their mountain hideouts to Bogota for the negotiations by the International Red Cross and the Roman Catholic Church, he added.

The July offer constituted a major policy reversal for the Colombian government, which had previously refused to negotiate a prisoner exchange.

The Farc are thought to hold 59 people hostage, including 22 politicians, 34 military personnel and police officers and three US nationals, the AFP news agency reported.

On Monday, Farc rebels released a video of 12 local congressmen they seized more than two years ago.

In the video, the politicians call on President Uribe to break the deadlock in his negotiations with the Farc.