HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- Colombia has formally opened talks with the
                 nation's second-largest rebel group, as representatives met in Cuba with a
                 pair of militant leaders released from jail for the occasion.

                 President Fidel Castro was present on Tuesday as the two commanders of the
                 National Liberation Army, or ELN, arrived for exploratory discussions with
                 representatives from Colombian President Andres Pastrana's government.

                 "I am convinced that the country needs peace," Castro said after an hour-long
                 opening session. "I salute the fact that they have gathered here."

                 Pastrana said earlier on Tuesday that if Castro attended the event it "would be an
                 important gesture" of support for the peace process.

                 In the past, Cuba has supported armed rebel movements in Latin America and othe
                 r parts of the world. Colombia's leftist ELN was among the groups inspired by
                 Castro's 1959 revolution.

                 But communist Cuba ended its aid to insurgent groups in 1992 and Castro recently
                 backed peace efforts between the Colombian government and the country's two
                 major rebel groups.

                 Earlier in January, government negotiations with the larger rebel group, the
                 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, nearly collapsed. Those talks
                 ended with an agreement to negotiate a cease-fire by early April.

                 Despite that, FARC rebels have continued to bomb government infrastructure
                 targets, such as water facilities and electrical towers.

                 At least seven government soldiers died on Tuesday after raiding a FARC
                 explosives cache in Dorado, about 60 miles south of Bogota, the army said.
                 Twenty-two other soldiers were still missing.

                 The army said four FARC rebels were killed in fighting before the soldiers seized
                 the hide-out.

                 About 3,500 people die every year in Colombia's 38-year war, which pits the FARC
                 and the smaller ELN against Colombia's U.S.-backed military and an illegal
                 right-wing militia.

                 U.N. peace envoy James LeMoyne, who played a key role in negotiations with the
                 16,000-strong FARC, was expected to attend the talks with the ELN in Havana.

                 The ELN military leaders said they did not expect major accords out of the three
                 days of talks. But they "hope to make a solid step toward continuing the process
                 over time," said Felipe Torres, a commander and negotiator for the 5,000-member
                 insurgency.

                 Torres and fellow rebel leader Francisco Galan arrived on Tuesday afternoon after
                 obtaining official permission -- for the fifth time -- to leave a Colombian prison to
                 participate in peace talks outside of the country.

                 While hopes were low for significant accords, representatives of civil groups said
                 they would ask the ELN to cut back on armed attacks including the destruction of
                 electrical towers, petroleum lines and other infrastructure.

                 The only alternative "is more war," said Antonio Navarro, an independent lawmaker
                 travelling with about 50 representatives of Colombian labour, business and
                 non-governmental organisations involved in the prickly process since 1998.

                  Copyright 2002 The Associated Press.