Nine Colombian policemen were killed and six others injured by a roadside bomb in Santander province, 100 miles to the North of Bogota, the Columbian capital.
Rebels planted the bomb
According to the authorities, FARC left-wing rebel group planted the bomb and the incident took place when the policemen were taking part in an exercise to destroy the coca bushes, which is a raw material for the cocaine and the main source of income for the rebels.
FARC demanding a 310-square-mile safe haven
The operation was the part of Columbian president Alvaro Uribe’s vow to crush the rebels by the end of his term in 2010. FARC, the oldest and best guerrilla movement in Latin America, are demanding a 310-square-mile safe haven near Cali to conduct talks for the exchange of hostages for the hundreds of its jailed rebels. The President didn’t accept the prolonged demand of the rebels and chasing them persistently .
Need for a mutually accepted agreement
The denouement for the 40 years long war is unlikely to reach soon. The government is truculent on its stand and doesn’t want to succumb to the rebel pressure for granting them the land that they are demanding near Cali, Colombia’s third largest city. There is a need to reach at mutually accepted solution for the restoration of the hostages and to abstain from any further confrontation and bloodshed.
Source: BBC
