16 peasants killed in Colombian attack

international | crime and justice | other press Tuesday January 04, 2005 18:42 by Joe Ranii joeranii at yahoo dot com

Another bloody assault on Colombia's poorest

By Carlos Gonzalez, Associated Press | January 2, 2005

BOGOTA -- Sixteen peasants, including women and children, were killed Friday in a remote area in the lawless eastern province of Arauca, police said yesterday.

The attack was carried out less than an hour before the new year arrived in the village of Puerto San Salvador, 230 miles northeast of Bogota, said Arauca's police chief, Colonel Rodrigo Palacio.

The killers, thought to be members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC, had accused the peasants of collaborating with rightist militias. Six men, six women, and four children were killed.

Leftist rebels have long battled the outlawed paramilitary fighters of the United Self-Defense Forces, or AUC, for control of Arauca, a strategic corridor for smuggling drugs from Venezuela.

The United Self-Defense Forces are in talks with the government, and demobilized more than 3,000 fighters last year. The FARC has shunned negotiations.