COMBAT KILLS 50 NEAR BOGOTA AS ALBRIGHT ARRIVES IN COLOMBIA

BOGOTA, Colombia -- In some of the worst fighting in months, clashes
between leftist rebels and security forces near Bogota killed 50
people Saturday, the same day Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
visited northern Colombia.

Rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC,
staged an early morning attack on Guayabetal, 30 miles southeast of
Bogota, Colombia's capital.

Fighting in the region continued throughout the day, and was still
going on Saturday night.

The Colombian government and FARC also held peace talks Saturday in a
southern jungle. It was not clear if the rebel attack was meant as a
show of force to coincide with the peace talks or Albright's visit.

The fighting was hundreds of miles away from Cartagena, where Albright
was on a one-day visit to discuss increasing cooperation between
Colombia and the United States in the drug war.

A statement from the Colombian army said 44 rebels, five soldiers and
a police officers were killed in the fighting.

It was the worst fighting in Colombia in six months.

Also Saturday, four small bombs exploded at police posts in southern
Bogota, causing damage but no casualties. No one claimed
responsibility for the explosives, but suspicion immediately fell on
the rebels.

Colombia's civil war has been going on for nearly four decades and has
killed an estimated 30,000 people.

On her visit, Albright promoted a proposed aid package to Colombia
worth $1.6 billion.

The United States insists the aid, if approved by the U.S. Congress,
would go to fighting drug trafficking. But some Colombians point out
that FARC earns much of its money from taxing drug crops -- and that
the proposed aid would almost certainly be used in the
counterinsurgency fight under the guise of fighting drugs.

President Andres Pastrana, appearing with Albright on the grounds of
the seaside guest house where she stayed Friday night, cited the
near-dismantling of cartels in Medellin and Cali as an indication of
Colombia's progress in the drug war.

"We can and will do more," he said as three Coast Guard speed boats
armed with M-60 rifles were deployed in waters just yards away.
Pastrana said European donors will meet in June or July to make
pledges to assist Colombia in fighting the drug trade.

Albright said the two countries are sharing a "very important moment"
and are "fully in harmony" on high-priority objectives.

The secretary of state's visit was further evidence of the growing
alliance between Washington and Colombia, the source of 80 percent of
all the cocaine used in the United States. Colombian drug lords also
have emerged in the past decade as a major force in heroin
trafficking.

Despite gains in interdiction, narcotics traders have been able to
outpace the government's eradication efforts.

Later Saturday, Albright flew to Panama where she inspected the
operation of the Panama Canal and met with President Mireya Moscoso.