BY SIBYLLA BRODZINSKY AND FRANCES ROBLES

                      SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Colombia - The Colombian Armed Forces Friday recaptured the
                      Cazadores Battalion army base it had ceded to rebels three years ago as the military completed its second
                      day of a land and air offensive against a former rebel stronghold in the Colombian jungle.

                      As government troops intensified the campaign, guerrillas in the 16,000-square mile region appeared to
                      pull back, but they stepped up attacks against electrical towers and other installations elsewhere in the country.

                      Three civilians, including a 2-year-old boy, were killed by government airstrikes, their families reported.
                      Three soldiers were injured and three U.S.-made Black Hawk helicopters came under fire from rebels
                      using ground-to-air artillery, the armed forces commander, Gen. Fernando Tapias, said.

                      The territory under assault, a third the size of Florida, includes five towns and is home to about
                      100,000 residents. It was handed over to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) three
                      years ago in an attempt to lure rebels into negotiating the end of a nearly 40-year-old conflict.

                      Furious over Wednesday's bold hijacking of a domestic airliner, President Andrés Pastrana cut off
                      peace talks with the Marxist rebels that night and ordered airstrikes in the demilitarized zone.

                      The government has said its objective is to ''bring the constitution'' back to an area that has been a
                      rebel cocaine and kidnapping stronghold.

                      Military experts suspect as many as 5,000 guerrillas remain inside the zone, some posing as civilians.
                      The majority of the FARC's 17,500-member armed force, particularly its leadership, is believed to have
                      left.

                      The army began Friday's offensive by retaking its Cazadores base, which hosted the government
                      negotiators in the failed peace talks. One thousand members of the army's rapid deployment force
                      stormed the base after 200 bomb-sniffing dogs scoured the area for hidden land mines.

                      FARC STATEMENT

                      Soldiers remained outside the main rebel town of San Vicente, home to some 22,000 residents, but
                      there was no visible presence of guerrillas either, although photocopies of a FARC statement were
                      distributed by a man in the town square. It was signed by FARC's five senior leaders ``from the
                      mountains of Colombia.''

                      The rebels struck back by carrying out a series of attacks in various provinces. In nearby Huila, they
                      bombed an electrical substation in Altamira that provided power to much of the rebel zone. In
                      Antioquia, an explosive device tore open a pipeline. In Cundinamarca, closer to the capital of Bogotá, a
                      telecommunications tower was hit, and in San Juan de Armeta a bomb was found inside a bus before it
                      went off.

                      NO CONCESSIONS

                      The FARC condemned Pastrana's rationale for ending peace talks: that the guerrillas had used the land
                      offering to build roads and highways for its illicit headquarters. The guerrillas claimed the talks ended
                      because the government failed to make concessions on the FARC agenda of providing improved
                      education, health care, unemployment aid, housing and land for peasants.

                      ''The more than 625 miles [of road] built . . . are not terrorist acts,'' the FARC statement said. ``To
                      accuse us of violating accords for having built bridges and roads for the service of the community is to
                      hide the real reasons for breaking off talks. In the three years of the zone, the FARC built -- with its
                      own efforts -- bridges and roads that the state didn't want to build in 26 years.''

                      Pastrana's term ends this year, and he is prohibited by law from seeking reelection. Alvaro Uribe, the
                      candidate with the toughest anti-FARC rhetoric, is leading the polls. The FARC said it would be happy
                      to work with a new administration committed to peace.

                      Despite the airstrikes and reports of civilian casualties, San Vicente was surprisingly calm Friday.

                      Townspeople, however, demanded authorities offer protection from right-wing paramilitaries who
                      target rebel sympathizers.

                      ''We want everyone to understand you can't punish us for loaning our house for a happy ending,''
                      Mayor Nestor León Ramírez said. The town was without electricity all day Friday, apparently because of
                      nearby FARC attacks on power plants.

                      REPORTS UNCONFIRMED

                      The armed forces were unwilling to confirm reports of three civilians allegedly killed by air force bombs.
                      Official complaints were filed with the country's human rights ombudsman saying air force bombs killed
                      three people in the village of La Y, about a four-hour drive north of San Vicente.

                      ''I watched the plane fly over and drop about eight bombs,'' said one 35-year-old farmer who was near
                      La Y at the time of the 11:30 a.m. Thursday bombing.

                      The man, who declined to be identified, said he saw his neighbor Saúl Quesada's legs blown off.
                      Quesada's 2-year-old son Yesid was beheaded in one of the blasts, the farmer said.

                      A 15-year-old girl named Keni Losada died from her bombing wounds hours later, said her father, who
                      would not give his name. Four others were injured.

                      Journalists saw the victims' bodies brought in to the San Vicente morgue, but the military stressed it
                      would have to investigate before accepting blame.

                      ''Don't forget, we are in a situation where they are trying to disinform, where there are guerrillas
                      dressed as civilians,'' Gen. Tapias said. ``Guerrillas are managing information and trying to generate
                      misinformation.''

                      Residents said there were no rebel camps near La Y, but there were bulldozers along the road
                      undergoing repairs, which could have been mistaken for FARC machinery.