Bogota  - Five members of the Colombian Air Force (FAC) died Wednesday as the training plane they were travelling in crashed.

The machine had taken off from a FAC base in the municipality of Puerto Salgar and fell to the ground shortly afterwards near La Dorada, in the central Colombian province of Caldas. The causes of the accident were not immediately known.

FAC commander Jorge Ballesteros said the dead included a major, two second lieutenants and two technicians. He said the cause of the crash was being investigated but ruled out sabotage or a rebel attack.

Bogota  - Leftist Colombian rebels admitted in a statement posted on the internet Tuesday to having killed eight members of the indigenous Awa tribe.

But the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) also blamed the deaths on the Colombian government. FARC said the government is the "executioner" of civilians because it gets them involved in the country's armed conflict.

Colombia's armed forces have long used civilians as informers, to find out details about the presence and movement of rebels.

Sao Paulo  - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Monday congratulated his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez on his referendum victory that removed term limits on his re-election.

"First, congratulations to President Chavez, because he obtained a democratic victory. Second, congratulations to our Venezuelan brothers for practicing democracy. And third, we will hope that antagonisms are overcome in Venezuela," Uribe said.

Bogota  - Four mine

Bogota  - After releasing six hostages last week, leftist Colombian rebels insisted on an exchange of prisoners with the Colombian government, according to messages made public Monday.

In the message, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said it considered the 22 politically-relevant hostages it is still holding as well as FARC prisoners in Colombian jails to be "prisoners of war."

Bogota - Six soldiers were killed and four were injured Monday in south-western Colombia in an attack that was allegedly perpetrated by leftist rebels, according to media reports in Bogota.

The network Caracol said the incident happened near the town of Morales, in the province of Cauca, when the military officers were on patrol.

Reports did not give details as to whether the soldiers entered a minefield or were ambushed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).