PARIS (AFP) — A French aid mission standing by for the possible release of Colombian former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt is to leave Colombia after being rejected by her captors, the French foreign ministry said Tuesday.
France, Spain and Switzerland, who worked together on the mission, believe that "keeping the medical mission in place is no longer justifiable" after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rejected it, said a statement released by the ministry and signed by the three countries.
"It will therefore leave Colombia soon."
The leftist rebels rejected the humanitarian mission as "inappropriate."
France sent a jet with doctors and diplomats on board last week to Colombia, where it had been waiting to assist Betancourt, who is rumoured to be gravely ill, and other hostages.
The FARC said the French mission was "the result of the bad faith of (Colombian President Alvaro) Uribe before the (French) government, and heartlessly mocks the expectation of the prisoners' families."
"We do not act under blackmail or under pressure from media campaigns," it said in a statement.
The FARC has been fighting the Colombian government for more than 40 years. It is said to hold hundreds of hostages, of which Betancourt, who also holds French nationality, is the most high profile. She has spent six years of captivity in the jungle.
"This rejection is a serious political mistake as well as a humanitarian tragedy," the statement from France said of the rebels' decision.
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