French Foreign Legion soldier escaped Colombian captors after four-day trek

A Colombian soldier in the French Foreign Legion who was taken hostage by guerrillas in Colombia escaped his captors after a four-day trek on foot through rebel-held territory, a military source told AFP on Monday.

Jose Olger Melo Charry was taken hostage on August 6 by a dissident faction of the now-defunct FARC guerrilla group while he was traveling on a highway in Colombia's southwest.

His "military training and his membership of the French Legion" were what "kept him alive," the Colombian army source said.

Melo Charry, a corporal in the French Foreign Legion in his early thirties, was abducted while on leave in Narino department, parts of which are controlled by cocaine-trafficking guerrillas.

He made his escape Thursday and, after walking for four days, presented himself to police in the Andean town of Policarpa.

From there he was transferred to a hospital in Pasto, capital of Narino, where he was said to be "doing well."

"He is undergoing medical tests and receiving psychological support," the army official said, adding that the solider had been placed under the protection of the security forces.

The official cited fears for the escaped soldier's safety and for "his relatives in the region."

The details of Melo Charry's getaway are not yet clear.

The French Foreign Legion is an elite unit of the French Army composed mainly of volunteers spanning dozens of nationalities who serve in international military operations.

France's Defense Ministry said Melo Charry, who joined the French army four years ago, had no authorization to travel to Colombia.

The Central General Staff (EMC), the biggest of the dissident FARC factions that rejected a historic 2016 peace deal between the rebel army and the state, had claimed responsibility for his abduction.

The EMC did not demand a ransom for his release but had warned Colombia's new right-wing president, Abelardo De la Espriella, against "any attempt at a rescue operation."

Colombia is experiencing the worst upsurge in violence since the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) disbanded a decade ago, marked by brutal turf wars between guerrillas seeking to control the cocaine and illegal gold mining trades.

De la Espriella, who took office a month ago, has launched a full-scale war against the rebels, ordering a barrage of airstrikes on their camps that have killed dozens of suspects, including several minors.

Kidnapping is commonly used by Colombian armed groups for extortion purposes or to exert political pressure.

Colombian-French politician Ingrid Betancourt became a symbol of the scourge of kidnappings in Colombia when she was captured by the FARC in a jungle area in 2002, while campaigning for the presidency.

She was rescued six years later in a military operation.