FARC hostage escapes with guard

A former Colombian lawmaker who was held captive by Marxist guerrillas for more than eight years has escaped, along with a rebel who had been guarding him.

Emerging from an eight year nightmare, ex-Colombian politican Oscar Lizcano walked unsteadily into the media glare.

The 63-year-old fled his FARC captors after persuading one of his guards to escape with him.

The men wandered for three days through the jungles before reaching an army outpost.

Lizcano looked frail and ragged, his health ruined by the long years spent in squalid jungle camps.

He thanked his former jailer to whom he said he owed his life.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OSCAR TULIO LIZCANO, HOSTAGE RESCUED FROM THE FARC SAYING:

"I have to thank the person that had the courage, the guts to escape taking me, a very sick old man, with him.

This is the man, a former enemy of the state turned national hero.

Identified only as Isaza, he painted a grim picture of life inside the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ISAZA, GUERRILLA MEMBER THAT ESCAPED WITH HOSTAGE SAYING:

"The pressure from the army, the hunger, not sleeping, the lack of money, all that plus the fact that Mr. Lizcano was very sick and he would most certainly die made me make that decision."

Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe said Isaza would be paid a bounty and allowed to live in France with his companion in a deal his government has promised to FARC members who surrender with hostages.

Lizcano's escape follows the rescue of French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and a group of other hostages, including three Americans in July.

His flight illustrates the military pressure facing the FARC, which has suffered a string of defeats this year at the hands of the US-backed Colombian military.

Helen Long, Reuters