Over 1,000 die in Colombian conflicts in first quarter of 2005
At least 1,037 Colombians died in actions directly or indirectly related to the internal armed conflicts during the first three months of 2005, a local human rights organization said here Friday.

Bogota's non-government organization, Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES), said that the armed conflict persists in a tragic way in Colombia, calling on the country and the international community to reflect on the "human cost" of the armed confrontation.

Those killed in actions "related to war" were 893 combatants, including law-enforcement personnel, government troops, paramilitaries and rebels, and 144 civilians, including mayors, former mayors, town councilors, teachers, students, peasants, indigenous people and trade union members.

These numbers constitute "alarming data," said CODHES. It called on the parties involved in the conflict to resume political talks to put an end to the bloodshed in the country.

Colombia has been ravaged by a four-decade-long civil war, in which government forces, leftist guerrillas and far right paramilitaries have fought one another. About 3,500 people, mostly civilians, are killed in the conflict every year.