BOGOTA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Colombian rebels have snatched nine peasants working in a logging camp in a northern jungle province where militia gunmen and guerrillas battle for control of timber and drug routes, authorities said on Wednesday. The kidnapping took place near Rio Sucio in Choco, where last year the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC massacred 10 loggers and kidnapped more than 100 more in a show of force as President Alvaro Uribe began a second term. "The loggers were working in the area when their labor was stopped by a group of armed men," the state ombudsman's office said in a statement calling for their release. "One of them escaped and made it to main town in Rio Sucio. Nine were taken, six men and three women, all adults." A police spokesman confirmed nine loggers were taken by rebels in the area. Violence from Colombia's four-decade-old conflict has ebbed as Uribe has led a U.S.-backed campaign to send troops to drive rebels back from urban areas and key highways. He has disarmed 31,000 right-wing paramilitaries who once fought the rebels. Rich in timber and bananas, Choco is one of the country's poorest regions and home to many Afro-Colombians who are among the hardest hit by violence and forced displacement by combat. Analysts say the FARC has tried to strengthen its presence in regions where paramilitary squads have demobilized and where state forces were still not fully established. The rebels often kidnap hostages for political leverage and ransom.
