BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) -- More than 1.1 million Colombians, mostly
                   peasants, have fled their homes in the last five years to escape the cross-fire of the
                   nation's increasingly brutal civil conflict, a leading human rights group said on
                   Tuesday.

                   The number of displaced people has spiraled since 1995, totalling more than
                   288,100 in 1999 alone, and created one of the worst refugee problems
                   anywhere outside Africa.

                   Unlike in the past, growing numbers of Colombians are now crossing into
                   neighboring Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador to escape the war that has
                   claimed more than 35,000 lives in just the last 10 years.

                   At a news conference to present its report, the Consultancy on Human
                   Rights and Displacement (Codhes) said the situation was likely to deteriorate
                   further over the next two years if Washington handed over a proposed $1.6
                   billion in mostly military aid.

                   The document, titled "Displacement Without Truce," came out as a mob of
                   peasant refugees stepped up their six-week protest at the Bogota offices of
                   the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and barricaded in a
                   group of aid workers.

                   "Those who do not participate in the hostilities are the main victims of the
                   armed confrontation... The consequence of this perverse method was the
                   forced and involuntary exodus of people who look for protection inside and
                   outside the country," read the Codhes document, drawn up in conjunction
                   with the Dutch embassy and U.N. agencies.

                   At least 45 deaths in last week

                   It blamed all Colombia's warring factions -- ultra-right paramilitary gangs,
                   Marxist guerrillas and government security forces -- for driving civilians out
                   of their homes and off their land.

                   The worst-hit regions were the northern provinces of Bolivar, Norte de
                   Santander and Cordoba and northwest Antioquia province, where rebels
                   and paramilitary fighters are battling for control.

                   Over the last week at least 45 people have died in paramilitary violence in
                   the war-torn Montes de Maria region of Bolivar and neighboring Sucre
                   provinces, authorities said.

                   A senior official in the office of the country's chief prosecutor issued a report
                   late on Tuesday saying all of the victims were local peasants who had their
                   throats slit.

                   A spokesman for the Navy, which has jurisdiction over the region, said
                   Montes de Maria was a former stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed
                   Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas but was being targeted by
                   paramilitary gangs trying to win control of gold and mineral deposits and a
                   strategic transit route between the provinces.

                   Codhes said that over the last year some 780 families, or 3,900 people, had
                   also fled a Switzerland-sized region of the southeast that the government
                   handed over to leftist guerrillas as a prelude to peace talks.

                   According to the report, more than 11,700 Colombian refugees crossed into
                   neighboring countries last year as a result of fighting in border zones in the
                   south close to Ecuador, in the northwest close to Panama and in the
                   northeast on the Venezuelan frontier.

                   U.S. partly blamed for refugee problem

                   "The (planned) U.S. aid could generate more displacement into Ecuador and
                   the Amazon region," said Codhes director Jorge Rojas.

                   U.S. Congress is still debating President Bill Clinton's proposal to give
                   Colombia $1.6 billion in aid to fight narco-trafficking and Marxist rebels
                   over the next two years.

                   A small percentage of that assistance is earmarked to help at least 10,000
                   peasants which authorities have said they expect to be displaced from
                   southern Caqueta and Putumayo provinces as U.S.-backed Colombian
                   troops move in to destroy drug plantations.

                   In a reflection of the growing frustration at the perceived lack of government
                   aid for the displaced population, more than 100 refugees stormed the ICRC
                   headquarters in early January.

                   At that time they briefly held a group of ICRC officials hostage but released
                   them in return for negotiations on core demands for housing, health and
                   education.

                   But during negotiations on Tuesday, the protesters, angry at lack of progress
                   in talks, once again blockaded the ICRC building and refused to allow four
                   Swiss ICRC delegates and one Colombian leave until nightfall.