The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Colombia said Sunday it is ready to send doctors anywhere in the nation's jungles, to take in or care for Ingrid Betancourt, the most famous captive of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
"There are foreign doctors in Colombia working with the International Red Cross with everything needed to care for the captives whenever it should be needed," Barbara Hintermann, top official of the ICRC in Colombia, told a local radio.
Her office has the logistics ready to take these doctors to any locale that the FARC would choose as a release site for Betancourt, who was abducted in February 2002 by FARC guerrillas as she was campaigning for the Colombian presidency.
Hintermann said that the Red Cross has confidential contacts with the FARC and that she is worried about the health of several captives including Betancourt.
Betancourt, who holds both French and Colombian citizenship, is reportedly gravely ill, suffering from hepatitis B and leishmania,a skin disease caused by insect bites.
The French government, which has been campaigning actively for Betancourt's release, has a plane standing by in Guyana should the release come soon.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said Saturday that the government is willing to free jailed FARC fighters in exchange for the release of hostages held by FARC.
Source:Xinhua
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