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Colombia
Rebels Kill 3, Kidnap
Councilman-Police
Bogota - Colombian
guerrillas killed three people and kidnapped
a local councilman during an attack on a
government building in a rural town,
authorities said.
Two security guards and a police officer
were shot dead when gunmen stormed a
municipal office in Garzon in southern Huila
province, late on Friday before fleeing with
councilor Jose Armando Acuna, police said.
Colombia's FARC rebels have been weakened by
President Alvaro Uribe's U.S.-backed
security campaign and urban bombings,
massacres and kidnappings from the long
conflict have ebbed. But the guerrillas
remain a force in rural areas.
Huila province was once targeted frequently
by rebel kidnap squads, but the region
remains a key transport route for arms and
for drugs reaching the Pacific coast.
The FARC -- Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia -- holds around 20 police officers
and soldiers hostage, some captive for as
long as 10 years. Attempts to reach a deal
on releasing the hostages have been
deadlocked for years.
Guerrillas in February released the last of
the politicians they were holding captive as
leverage for possible negotiations with the
government. The FARC says the releases were
a goodwill gesture, but Uribe says the
rebels are trying to gain political points
rather than lay the groundwork for talks. |
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