The Colombian government offered Wednesday in a statement to release 50 jailed guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) if the rebels free the kidnapped political and military officials.

Government peace negotiator Luis Carlos Restrepo said the Colombian government considered releasing the 50 guerrillas in accordance with Colombian law and providing them with convenience for their return to social life.

However, the FARC should free all the hostages in return, he stressed.

Restrepo said the government's offer got support from France, Switzerland and the International Red Cross, the mediators for the nation's hostage problem.

The FARC, the largest rebel group in Colombia with 17,000 combatants, has been involved in the four-decade-old civil war in the country. It required the government for many times to free more than 400 jailed guerrillas in return for the hostages of around 20 politicians, 40 military officers and three US Defense Department contractors. But the requirements have been rejected by the government.

Colombia has been plagued by a four-decade-old civil war, in which leftist rebels, far-right paramilitary and governmental troops fight one another, with an average of 3,500 people killed every year. About 2,000 people, including 22 foreigners, were kidnapped in Colombia last year.

Source: Xinhua