Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says the top leader of the FARC leftist rebel group narrowly escaped an attack by the country's armed forces.

The president says Alfonso Cano fled a rebel camp, on the border of Huila and Cauca provinces, no more than 12 hours before it was attacked by troops on Thursday.

Mr. Santos told a news conference Sunday that it was the third time they have almost captured Cano.

The FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, is the country's largest rebel group and has been fighting the government since the 1960s.

It has been designated as a terrorist organization by Colombia, the United States and the European Union.