BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- In some of the worst fighting in months,
                  clashes between leftist rebels and security forces near Bogota killed 50
                  people Saturday, the same day Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited
                  northern Colombia.

                  Rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, staged
                  an early morning attack on Guayabetal, 30 miles southeast of Bogota,
                  Colombia's capital.

                  Fighting in the region continued throughout the day, and was still going on
                  Saturday night.

                  The Colombian government and FARC also held peace talks Saturday in a
                  southern jungle. It was not clear if the rebel attack was meant as a show of
                  force to coincide with the peace talks or Albright's visit.

                  The fighting was hundreds of miles away from Cartagena, where Albright
                  was on a one-day visit to discuss increasing cooperation between Colombia
                  and the United States in the drug war.

                  A statement from the Colombian army said 44 rebels, five soldiers and a
                  police officers were killed in the fighting.

                  It was the worst fighting in Colombia in six months.

                  Also Saturday, four small bombs exploded at police posts in southern
                  Bogota, causing damage but no casualties. No one claimed responsibility for
                  the explosives, but suspicion immediately fell on the rebels.

                  Colombia's civil war has been going on for nearly four decades and has
                  killed an estimated 30,000 people.

                  On her visit, Albright promoted a proposed aid package to Colombia worth
                  $1.6 billion.

                    Copyright 2000 The Associated Press.