Botched rocket attacks kills 2, wounds 14 in Colombia

March 15, 2000
Web posted at: 7:29 a.m. EST (1229 GMT)

MEDELLIN, Colombia -- A botched attempt by leftist rebels to launch a rocket attack on a military barracks left two civilians dead and 14 injured, military officials say.

The rebels attempted to launch homemade missiles, made with propane gas cylinders, from a truck near the barracks, located in a residential district of Medellin, the military said. The truck was destroyed when the devices apparently exploded prematurely.

"These are irrational acts against the civilian population," said Gen. Eduardo Herrera, commander of the Colombian army's Fourth Brigade. The brigade's base was the intended target of the attack, which occurred shortly before 5 p.m.

The explosion killed a man and a woman, said Maj. Oscar Anzola, an army spokesman. Anzola said the victims were in a house outside the base. By late Tuesday their identities still had not been established.

Military officials blamed the attack on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by the Spanish acronym FARC. The group has made regular attempts to attack the brigade's headquarters. Last July, a rebel car bomb killed 10 people and wounded 38.

The countryside around Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city, is among the country's most violent regions. The city was home to the notorious Medellin cocaine cartel, which collapsed after its leader, Pablo Escobar, died in a 1993 shootout.

Colombia's civil war has killed more than 35,000 in the past 10 years. Peace talks between the FARC and the government have been going on for a year, but no cease-fire is in place while negotiations proceed.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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CIA World Factbook - Colombia
Colombian Embassy in Washington
Presidencia de la Republica (Spanish/English)
Armada Nacional (Spanish)
Naval Postgraduate School: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

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