Farc rebels ‘kill 10 Colombian soldiers’
Ten Colombian soldiers have been killed in an attack by left-wing Farc rebels in west of the country, officials say.
The government says 17 soldiers were also injured, four of them seriously, following an attack in the Farc stronghold of Cauca.
President Juan Manuel Santos says he will travel to the area on Wednesday.
There is currently a ceasefire between the Marxist guerrilla group and the government as they hold peace talks in Havana, Cuba.
The soldiers were attacked at dawn at an army garrison in a small town of Cauca, according to local governor Temistocles Ortega.
The army says the rebels used explosives, grenades and firearms.
On Twitter, President Santos condemned the killing of soldiers, adding “this is why we want to end the war”.
Decades of war
Farc, the largest of Colombia’s rebel groups, was founded in 1964 with the aim of installing a Marxist regime.
Its negotiators have been engaged in peace talks with the Colombian government since November 2012 and declared a unilateral ceasefire in December 2014.
There are other guerrilla groups in the country that remain in conflict with the government.
More than 220,000 people are estimated to have died in five decades of conflict.
Farc is listed as a terrorist organisation by the US and Europe.
Timeline of the peace process
November 2012 – Formal peace talks begin in the Cuban capital Havana between the Colombian government and the Farc
May 2013 – A deal is reached on land reform, one of the most contentious issues. It calls for fair access to land, and rural development, two key causes of the conflict
November 2013 – The two sides agree on the political participation of the Farc should a peace deal be reached
May 2014 – Both parties pledge to eliminate all illicit drug production in Colombia
December 2014 – The Farc declares a unilateral ceasefire
March 2015 – Both sides agree to work together to remove landmines. Colombia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world
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