Colombia forces kill 20 FARC fighters
Looking pretty healthy there, for a prisoner, say some of this politician’s enemies. Sigifredo Lopez was captured and released by Colombia’s FARC guerrillas. But now he’s sitting under house arrest, accused of helping to get himself and 11 other politicians kidnapped.
At least 20 FARC rebels have been killed in Colombia after the military launched bombing raids against a camp in Columbia's Narino province, near the border with Ecuador.
The raid is the biggest military operation to occur against FARC since peace talks began in October, BBC News reported.
FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, is Colombia's largest guerrilla group. In November, the group announced a ceasefire that was set to last until January 20, Al Jazeera reported.
On Sunday, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos rejected calls for a government-led truce until a final agreement between the government and Farc to disarm the rebels of their weapons had been established.
According to News 24, the conflict between FARC and Colombia has dragged on for almost 50 years, leaving about 600,000 dead, 15,000 missing and four million people domestically displaced.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.