Colombian military kills 22 alleged rebels

BOGOTA — The Colombian military said Sunday it had killed at least 22 alleged leftist militants in southern Colombia.

The dead were found after an air force raid on a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, camp in Putumayo province, Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera said. They were believed to belong to the group that last week killed eight police officers in Putumayo.

The exact location of the camp in San Miguel just kilometers from the border with Ecuador was learned from unnamed informants, who will receive a reward, the military said.

In the last two weeks, FARC has killed at least 50 police officers and soldiers.

During the eight-year term of President Juan Manuel Santos’ mentor and predecessor Alvaro Uribe, FARC had been forced into retreat in the 4-decade-old conflict that intertwines politics and the drug trade.

In a country where almost half the population lives
in poverty, however, the rebels continue to have a substantial amount
of power, and the Colombian topology, with its many remote jungle
areas, allows them to escape security forces with relative ease.

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