COLOMBIAN ARMY REPELS REBEL ATTACK

BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan. 16 - Army units backed by helicopter gunships today
chased rebels into a mountainous zone south of Bogota, a day after the
heaviest fighting in months killed at least 50 people.

Clashes between the army and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) continued near the town of Guayabetal, 30 miles southeast
of Bogota.

The rebels tried to take over the town on Saturday but were repelled by
1,000 troops backed up by the air force. Today, the town was squarely in
government hands, the army's press office said.

"This terrorist attempt failed miserably," armed services chief Gen.
Fernando Tapias said.

A Colombian television reporter, Astrid Legarda of RCN, covering the
fighting near Bogota, was injured in the stomach when a man who was guiding
her mishandled a grenade and it exploded in his hands. The man died instantly.

In Saturday's fighting, residents ran for cover and motorists hid
underneath vehicles while the army's Black Hawk helicopters pounded the
mountainous region with rockets and machine guns.

Tapias said 44 rebels died in Saturday's fighting, although as of this
afternoon reporters had been shown only 20 bodies. Five soldiers and a
policeman also were reported killed.

The FARC, which has about 15,000 fighters, is one of two main guerrilla
groups that have been fighting the Colombian government for more than 35
years. At least 30,000 people have died in the civil war.

Saturday's fighting occurred as U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K.
Albright visited the Colombian city of Cartagena to promote a proposed $1.6
billion aid package to help Colombia fight drugs.