800 paramilitaries demobilized in Colombia
At least 800 members of the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) were demobilized Wednesday at a ceremony in the southwestern state of Narino, said officials.

A mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) and several representatives of the local government participated in the ceremony.

The demobilization of the AUC is to continue in the southwestern state of Valle del Cauca, said Luis Carlos Restrepo, a government peace commissioner.

The peace process between the government and the AUC started in December 2002. By now, a total of 6,045 paramilitaries have been demobilized and some other 16,000 are expected to lay down their arms before 2006.

The AUC was established in the 1980s by drug traffickers and land owners to fight leftist guerrillas in areas where government troops had little control. It has been active in northern Colombia, particularly in the areas of Antioquia and Cordoba.

The AUC demobilization process will help ease Colombia's four-decades-long conflict, the longest in Latin America, which kills about 3,500 people each year.