Reuters AlertNet Lite - Two Colombian soldiers arrested for killing spree

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Two Colombian soldiers arrested for killing spree

10 Jun 2007 22:40:19 GMT
Source: Reuters

BOGOTA, June 10 (Reuters) - Two Colombian soldiers assigned to fighting rebels in the southern part of the country were arrested for killing six unarmed civilians, including a child, during a killing spree early on Sunday morning, the army said.

The soldiers appeared to be drunk when they entered a party being held in a school in the town of San Vicente del Caguan and opened fire, killing three, witnesses told reporters.

Three more victims, including a nine-year-old boy, were found shot dead near the building, the army said in a statement. The two soldiers were responsible for all six deaths and were arrested later on Sunday morning, it said.

San Vicente del Caguan was the site of a peace initiative under which former President Andres Pastrana ceded a Switzerland-sized piece of territory to leftist rebels who have been fighting the state since 1964.

Those talks broke down in 2002, the year that hard-line President Alvaro Uribe was first elected on promises of smashing the insurgency, which is financed by the cocaine trade and still claims thousands of lives a year.

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Last updated:Sun Jun 10 22:42:17 2007