By REUTERS

APIAY AIR BASE, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian warplanes bombed Marxist guerrilla camps and air strips in a rebel enclave on
Thursday after the collapse of three years of peace talks, prompting fears of a rebel backlash.

Jets carrying 500-pound bombs flew from Apiay air base in Meta Province to attack a nearby enclave ceded to FARC guerrillas in late
1998 as a safe haven for peace talks which President Andres Pastrana declared dead on Wednesday night.

A-37 and AC-47 jets flew 200 sorties out of Apiay on a clear, starry night to hit 80 strategic targets within the

Switzerland-sized chunk of savanna and jungle held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, an air force officer said. There was
no word of casualties, as troops and tanks massed on the enclave's borders awaiting invasion orders.

Pastrana ended tortuous negotiations with the 17,000-strong Marxist force, known by the Spanish initials FARC, after guerrillas on
Wednesday hijacked a domestic airliner, landed it on a rural highway and abducted a national senator on board, spiriting him away
toward the rebel-held enclave.

A furious Pastrana said in a television address to the nation that he had ordered troops to retake control of the guerrilla-held area after
midnight.

``I have decided not to continue the peace process with the FARC,'' Pastrana said in the address, declaring the collapse of efforts to end
a 38-year-old war which has claimed 40,000 mainly civilian lives in the past decade alone. ``Today the glass of indignation spilled over,''
he said, branding the hijacking ``an international offense classified as terrorism.''

Wagging his finger at the camera, a normally calm Pastrana accused the FARC of abusing the enclave. Rebels had used the territory to
hide kidnap victims, run a cocaine business and build their military machine, he said.

In a statement issued by the FARC's de facto official news agency, ANNCOL, the rebels blamed the collapse of talks on the president
and Colombia's ``oligarchy.''

``The banners of peace with social justice belong to the Colombian people and will remain in their hands,'' ANNCOL said.

UNCERTAIN DAWN

As a cold Andean mountain dawn broke on the streets of the capital Bogota, ordinary people mostly said they thought that Pastrana was
right to kick over the negotiating table with a rebel force which has continued to fight outside the enclave all through the years of talks. But
fears the FARC might step up bombing attacks within cities were widespread.

``I think we're going to see a horrible bloodbath. It's always the innocent who get killed, but it's worth it if breaking off talks is best for the
majority of the country,'' said 60-year-old Betty Zuleta. ``Forgive me if I cry, but this hurts me as a Colombian,'' she said, sobbing on a
park bench in a fashionable Bogota suburb.

John Rojas, a 25-year-old street vendor hawking cellphone pouches, agreed that the military should strike the FARC. ''Lots of people
are going to be killed but the next generation is going to be free,'' he said.

Pastrana, who had dedicated his presidency to peace talks with the FARC, said the military would do their best to ensure the safety of
roughly 100,000 civilians in the rebel region.

In previous crises in the peace process, local people have said they feared being targeted by far-right paramilitary outlaws, who killed
hundreds of civilians they accused of being guerrilla collaborators last year.

The country's main illegal paramilitary group, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or ``AUC'', issued a communique blaming the
collapse of peace talks on the FARC.

``The civilian population will be respected. We ask them to keep away from the guerrillas,'' said the AUC, which human rights groups say
cooperates with sectors of the military.

But AUC promises have not always counted for much in the past -- particularly a quickly violated assurance that they would not target
groups of more than three people for assassination at any one time.

PEACE PROCESS SHATTERED

The United States has provided more than $1 billion in mostly military aid for Colombia's anti-drug fight, helping increase the
long-shambolic armed forces' preparedness here. U.S. personnel have not taken part in combat roles.

Peace talks pulled back from the brink of collapse in January, when Pastrana gave the guerrillas 48 hours to vacate the main towns of the
demilitarized zone.

Only a last-minute FARC promise, on Jan. 20, to start immediate negotiations to clinch cease-fire deals by an April 7 deadline prevented
a threatened army offensive.

The atmosphere at Apiay base was one of cheerful activity as the attack, long desired by the restless military as Pastrana struggled with
peace talks, finally went ahead.

``I'm proud. It's an honor to serve Colombia,'' said a grim-faced pilot in his 20s as he crouched on the wing of his Tucano jet after
returning from bombing a FARC camp.