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Colombia apologizes for
inadvertent violation of Ecuador
airspace
Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe admitted
on Monday his country's armed
forces violated Ecuadorian
airspace inadvertently last
weekend in hot pursuit of
guerrillas.
"Our forces went into Ecuador
against their will ... to
prevent the FARC from violating
Ecuador's territory and
continuously murdering our
soldiers and police ... as well
as harming our citizens," Uribe
told reporters in the
southeastern province of
Putumayo bordering Ecuador.
He offered official apologies
for the incident on Jan. 28. "We
offer our apologies for the
violation of Ecuadorian
airspace," Uribe said.
Ecuador's Foreign Ministry
issued a strongly worded protest
last week, saying three Black
Hawk helicopters and two
military planes had flown over
the Ecuadorian province of
Sucumbios for several hours to
pursue guerrillas of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC).
Ecuador demanded an apology from
Colombia, warning it might
withdraw its ambassador for
consultation.
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