Tanks mass on Colombian border

Venezuela has sent hundreds of tanks to the Colombian border as the crisis in South America escalates.

The OPEC nation's military confirmed it has forwarded ten tank battalions to the border with its neighbour and mobilised its air force and navy.

Military analysts estimate the mobilization could include more than 200 tanks.

Tension has mounted in the region after Colombia killed Paul Reyes, the second-in-command of the Marxist FARC guerrillas, in a strike inside neighbouring Ecuador at the weekend.

Both Ecuador and Venezuela rushed troops to the border and cut diplomatic ties with Colombia after the attack.

Now Venezuela is adding heavy firepower to its troop presence and leftwing president Hugo Chavez is threatening war if Colombia's US-backed conservative government attacks rebels in Venezuela.

Colombia has said it will not deploy extra forces to its borders in response to its neighbours' mobilizations.

Other Latin American countries including Brazil have joined Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa in urging Colombia to apologise for the cross-border strike.

But US president George W Bush has given his support to the Colombian government , which has been fighting the FARC insurgency for more than 40 years.

Colombia has said it has already apologised and Mr Correa should take responsibility for sheltering the rebels.

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