The men shown in the video footage were seized by the Farc more than 10 years ago [EPA]

The footage, made available on Monday, shows four soldiers and six policemen sitting on the ground with chains around their necks.

The videos were seized on Saturday from a man at a military checkpoint near Bogota, the Colombian capital, according to General Freddy Padilla, the commander of the Colombian security forces.

"As soon as the relatives received these 'proof of life' videos, one of them fainted - but the rest just remained still, accepted it and thanked God for the fact that their loved ones are still alive," Padilla said.

'Inhumane' treatment

The footage shows the captives, who were captured between August 1998 and July 1999, greeting relatives and thanking those who are trying to negotiate their release.

"I miss you so very much and I keep you in my heart," Luis Arturo Arcia, one of the soldiers held captive, says in one video.

Some of the other captives made political comments, while some gave practical instructions to family members on how their salaries should be used.

General Oscar Gomez, chief of staff of the Colombian army, said the videos showed the "inhumane conditions" in which the hostages were being kept.

Prisoner swap refused

The Farc is Colombia's biggest armed group and is holding at least 24 soldiers and police officers.

The group has said that it will only release its captives in exchange for Farc members being freed from Colombian jails.
 
The government of President Alvaro Uribe has refused to consider prisoner swaps and called on the Farc to release its captives.

The Farc has been fighting against the Colombian authorities for 45 years, in Latin America’s oldest insurgency.

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