French President Nicolas Sarkozy made a direct televised appeal to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Tuesday, urging hostage’s Ingrid Betancourt release. “Ingrid is in danger of imminent death. She no longer has the strength to resist an interminable captivity which is turning into tragedy,” Sarkozy said, addressing Manuel Marulanda, a FARC leader. “You, who lead the FARC, you have a rendezvous with history. Don't miss it. Free Ingrid Betancourt and the weakest hostages,” he added, quoted by the International Herald Tribune.

The son of Betancourt, Lorenzo Delloye, claims his mother is suffering from hepatitis B and a skin disease called leishmaniasis, which means she needs a rapid blood transfusion or she might die. “Either you release mother and the other ill hostages or you will bury her in the coming hours,” he declared.

According to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, it appears that France hopes to send a doctor to visit the hostage in the Colombian jungle. President Alvaro Uribe said he approved the French humanitarian operation. The Colombian leader also mentioned that the mission would include the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Ingrid Betancourt, who has dual French-Colombian nationality, was campaigning for Colombia’s presidency when she was kidnapped by FARC in 2002. A support committee spokesman claims that Betancourt started a hunger strike since February 23.

FARC is Colombia’s oldest Marxist rebel group, according to the U.S. Department of State, and it justified hostage-taking as a legitimate military tactic in a complex civil war. Many countries, including the U.S., assign it as being a terrorist group. FARC is believed to keep almost 750 hostages in Colombia’s jungles.