Death Toll from FARC Attack in Colombia Rises to 11 Soldiers
The death toll from an attack blamed on Colombia's leftist FARC guerrillas has risen to 11 soldiers after another died of his wounds, the army said Thursday.
The nighttime attack Tuesday in the western rebel bastion of Cauca -- the latest setback for the two-year-old peace process aimed at ending the five-decade conflict -- also left two rebels dead, the army said.
President Juan Manuel Santos denounced the "vile" attack Wednesday and ordered the resumption of air strikes on FARC positions, which he had suspended on March 11 in recognition of the guerrillas' declaration of a unilateral ceasefire.
Some 20 other soldiers were wounded in the attack. Army commander Jaime Lasprilla said they were making a "satisfactory" recovery.
The army also increased the rebel death toll, after initially saying one guerrilla was killed in the fighting.
"The body of one terrorist killed in the course of operations was recovered on site, with weapons. And we have information on the death of another," said General Lasprilla.
The FARC had declared a unilateral ceasefire in December in a bid to advance peace talks that have been under way in Havana since November 2012.
Santos has refused to commit to a bilateral ceasefire until there is a final peace deal.
The conflict has killed more than 200,000 people and uprooted five million since the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia was founded in 1964.
Source: Agence France Presse
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