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Colombian President Tours Former Rebel Stronghold VOA News 23 Feb 2002 17:50 UTC 
Colombian President Andres Pastrano has helicoptered to a major rebel stronghold where only hours earlier today (Saturday), Colombian government forces raised the flag. A Colombian soldier dumped the yellow, blue, and red flag of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - or FARC - into a trash can in San Vincente del Caguan, once the country's largest rebel-held town. The town is part of a Switzerland-sized enclave, held by FARC. An estimated 12-thousand soldiers are said to be continuing the second day of a campaign to re-establish government authority there. Military officials report little rebel resistance, but say paratroopers and counter-insurgency forces did come under fire, as they took control of San Vincente del Caguan prior to the president's arrival. There are no confirmed reports of casualties from either side. Before the recapture of San Vincente del Caguan, Colombian Air Force planes bombed at least 85 targets, including air strips and training camps, inside the zone. President Pastrana ceded the area to the rebels in 1998 in an effort to bring them to the negotiating table. The military offensive began a day after FARC guerrillas hijacked a passenger plane and kidnapped a prominent Colombian senator. The highjack-kidnapping prompted an angry President Pastrana to declare an end to the peace process and order the offensive into the rebel stronghold. As many as five thousand guerrillas are reported to have either retreated deep into the Colombian jungle or to have disguised themselves as civilians. In Washington, the State Department said the United States supports the Pastrana government's decision to crack down on the rebels. U.S. officials are promising to increase intelligence-sharing and to expedite delivery of spare parts for military equipment. The conflict has left at least 40-thousand people dead in the past decade. The war pits the FARC and a smaller rebel force (the National Liberation Army) against the government and anti-guerrilla paramilitary groups.
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