By Luis Jaime Acosta MEDELLIN, Colombia, May 15 (Reuters) - A former top Colombian paramilitary boss told a prosecutor on Tuesday the army helped train him and charged at least two retired generals had supported his illegal group, judicial sources said. The accusations could fuel a scandal tying some of President Alvaro Uribe's allies to the paramilitaries who are accused of massacres and murders during their conflict with left-wing rebels. Authorities have imprisoned 13 lawmakers on charges they colluded with the now demobilized militias. Uribe, who receives millions of U.S. aid to help quell Colombia's insurgency, says the arrests show justice is working. But rights groups say the scandal has unearthed the depth of collusion among militias, politicians and the army. Salvatore Mancuso, now jailed commander of the disbanded United Self Defense Forces of Colombia or AUC paramilitary movement, made his charges during testimony as part of a peace deal reached with Uribe's government. More than 31,000 paramilitary fighters have disbanded. Reporters were barred from proceedings, but two judicial sources and witnesses representing victims said Mancuso charged he was trained by the army, patrolled with military officers in areas controlled by rebels and received military help. "I am the real proof of state paramilitaries. I was a paramilitary trained by them," Mancuso told a prosecutor according to the witnesses. "The paramilitary movement is not a personal responsibility, it is a state policy." Mancuso, who has admitted to murders and massacres in the name of counter-insurgency, arrived to start his testimony at Medellin attorney general's office under heavy guard as families of paramilitary victims screamed "murderer" outside. Mancuso also referred to one of the senators now imprisoned on collusion charges as "one of ours," the sources said. The militia boss has promised in his testimony started Tuesday to reveal the identities of politicians, business leaders and military officers who collaborated with his illegal organization. The paramilitaries began in the 198Os as self-defense groups set up by rich farmers seeking protection from rebels where state presence was weak. Rights groups have long said collusion between the army and militias was an open secret and worry paramilitaries have kept their criminal networks intact.
