Marxist Colombian rebels denied accusations that they had kidnapped eight foreign tourists snatched by camouflage-clad gunmen near the ruins of an ancient Indian city last week. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a 17,000-member guerrilla army known by its Spanish initials FARC, suggested instead that Colombian military intelligence was to blame for the abduction and would likely stage a fake rescue.

Four Israelis, two Britons, a Spaniard and a German were taken hostage on Friday, and, according to witnesses, marched away into jungle-matted slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. ?It is false that our guerrilla units are responsible for kidnapping the eight tourists,? the FARC said in a statement posted on its Internet site www.farcep.org.

?The terrorist operations of the state against the tourists in the Sierra Nevada are carried out by Colombian military intelligence, with the goal of showing results to the president with a staged rescue,? it said. The witnesses to the dawn abduction were five tourists the kidnappers decided to leave behind. The more fortunate adventurers, who included two Australians, blamed rebels.

Quick ransom money

The military and government were more specific, saying it was the FARC, Latin America?s largest guerrilla army, and dispatched 2,000 soldiers and police, backed by Black Hawk helicopters, to hunt for the hostages.

The remote, northern mountains where the eight tourists were kidnapped are the home to multiple guerrilla armies fighting in Colombia, including the smaller, Cuban-inspired National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish initials ELN. The FARC and the ELN both regularly take hostages, usually looking for ransom money to fill war chests.

To make matters more confusing, far-right paramilitary death squads ? paid to kill rebels and rebel sympathizers ? also operate in the zone, often wear camouflage and are regularly accused of kidnapping. Drug smugglers are rife near the coast, and then there are also common criminals looking for quick ransom money.

More than 1,000 people have been abducted so far this year in Colombia. The guerrilla conflict, already in its fourth decade, claims thousands of lives every year. The tourists ? who ignored US and foreign travel warnings when visiting the zone ? were trying to catch a glimpse of Colombia?s Lost City, a 2,500-year-old Indian ruin located two days by foot from the Caribbean coast.

Supposed to be safe

One of the adventurers who was released, 29-year-old Dutch software designer Mathijs Grote Beverborg, said he had no idea about the dangers of the trek. ?Ciudad Perdida was supposed to be really safe and no guerrillas at all,? Beverborg told Reuters in an interview. He added the guerrillas were not rough. ?They were not violent and not rude at all. They were treating us well, apart from tying us up and stuff.?

President Alvaro Uribe, whose father was killed by FARC rebels, told Reuters yesterday: ?We are making every effort to rescue them.?

The commander of the Colombian army flew over jungle-covered mountains, heading up a massive search. General Carlos Ospina also visited an Indian village tucked in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains where residents told him they saw the tourists on Saturday afternoon.

The army invited journalists to accompany Ospina. ?This could take a long time,? Ospina said in the village of Don Diego after flying in a helicopter over the jagged mountain tops and river-filled valleys of the Sierra Nevada.

Christopher Henderson, father of British hostage Mark Henderson, said he was confident his son could endure the ordeal. ?He?s in good physical shape, and was in fine spirits when I spoke to him about two weeks ago,? Henderson said in Britain. ?He is well capable of looking after himself.?

Despite the dangers, other foreign backpackers eagerly awaited their chance to visit the Lost City

?It?s probably the safest place in the world right now,? Michael Hall, a 24-year-old from London said of the Lost City. ?If the authorities let us up, I?m ready to go. That?s what I came for. They say it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.?

Phil Stewart