Colombian authorities say they will investigate allegations of child sexual abuses by US contractors and military staff.

Historian Renen Vega claimed 53 minors were sexually abused by US troops when they were in the country between 2003 and 2007.

The claims were published in February in a report on talks between the government and leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.

The US soldiers were said to have filmed the acts and sold the tapes as pornographic material.

Cristina Plazas, who heads the Colombian Welfare Family Institute (ICBF), called for an "active search" of the girls and adolescents who were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the troops.

Mr Vega's piece was part of a set of 12 reports on the long-running conflict, written by historians of various political leanings at the request of an independent commission.

The commission was created to determine the causes and consequences of the 50-year ongoing civil war between FARC and government forces, which has claimed more than 7 million lives.

In his report, Mr Vega said the abuses took place in the towns of Melgar and Girardot.

He also claimed that in Melgar, a US contractor and a US sergeant raped a 12-year-old girl in 2007.

Tolemaida, one of the largest military bases in Colombia, is located near the towns and is accessed by US troops.

The office of the ombudsman, who monitors human rights in Colombia, rejected the accusations.

The agency asked to know how many of the cases have been investigated and the stage of any probes.

Washington headed the multi-billion-dollar Plan Colombia, a military and diplomatic aid initiative aimed at fighting drug trafficking and insurgencies.

Last month, the US Embassy in Bogota insisted it "takes very seriously any allegation of sexual misconduct by one of its officials".

AFP