Bogota - Eight Colombian soldiers were killed Wednesday in a clash with leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the northeastern Perija mountains on the Venezuelan border.

"Unfortunately eight military officers died today in ... the province of La Guajira. The events took place in the early hours as the soldiers were ambushed by FARC," said La Guajira Interior Minister Jose Ballesteros.

Army reinforcements were sent to the site of the clash in the town of Villanueva, Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said.

Colombian media reports said the rebels escaped to Venezuelan territory following the encounter with the military.

Bogota  - Seven Colombian soldiers were killed Wednesday in a clash with leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the northeastern Perija mountains, on the Venezuelan border.

"Unfortunately seven military officers were murdered. We deeply regret it and we are investigating exactly what happened to these military officers," said Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos.

Army reinforcements were sent to the site of the clash, in the town of Villanueva, Santos said.

Bogota - Leftist rebels in Colombia said Thursday they will soon release the hostage they have been holding longest, a soldier kidnapped more than 11 years ago.

Corporal Pablo Emilio Moncayo was abducted by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on December 21, 1997 in an attack on an army communications base on Mount Patascoy.

The rebels seized several members of the military during the raid in the south-west region of Narino, but only Moncayo and Jose Libio Martinez remain in captivity.

Bogota  - Colombian police arrested Wednesday Daniel Rendon, known with the alias "Don Mario," the boss of a paramilitary gang devoted to drug trafficking.

Cesar Mauricio Velasquez, press secretary at the government palace in Bogota, said that the man - one of the most sought after suspects in Colombia - was arrested in the town of Apartado, in the northwestern region of Antioquia.

Bogota - Clara Rojas, a former hostage held by leftist Colombian rebels, said the family of high profile hostage Ingrid Betancourt hid for two months evidence that Betancourt was alive.

In an interview published by the Colombian daily El Tiempo on Monday, Rojas - who was Betancourt's vice presidential candidate when the two were kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in February 2002 - said Betancourt's family hid the evidence to keep her in the media spotlight.

Bogota  - Wide areas of the Colombian capital Bogota were in chaos Thursday after several hours of rain caused flooding and blocked key avenues, prompting Mayor Samuel Moreno to declare a state of emergency.

The damage, particularly in the western districts of Fontibon, Kennedy and Tunjuelito, became clear Thursday morning after rains had fallen since Wednesday.

Officials at the Colombian Hydrology and Meteorology Institute said the amount of water that fell overnight in 12 hours was equivalent to the average for the city in a whole month.