|
Colombian Officers Removed Following Rebel Attacks VOA News 2 Mar 2002 06:44 UTC 
A Colombian army general and a police colonel have been forced to step down amid government discontent with efforts to counter a violent offensive from the nation's largest rebel group.
Authorities Friday dismissed Army General Gustavo Porras, a top military commander in southern Colombia, where the army seeks to re-assert control over a former rebel enclave.
Officials also said Colonel Jesus Antonio Moya, who was in charge of security in the oil-producing eastern Arauca department, would be relieved of his duties.
The French news agency says the two officials were dismissed over mistakes in fighting rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC.
Rebel violence has increased since President Andres Pastrana declared the peace process with the FARC over and ordered the military to seize the guerrillas' southern stronghold.
The rebels have dynamited power transmission lines in parts of Colombia, leaving thousands of residents without power. Bridges also have come under guerrilla attack.
On Thursday, President Pastrana decreed a military theater of operations in six departments across Colombia to counter the attacks by the FARC. The order gives the army the power to register civilians, impose curfews, set roadblocks and regulate business hours.
In a related development, two civilians and four police officers were wounded Friday when a hand grenade exploded near a police group on patrol in the northwestern city of Medellin. There has been no claim of responsibility.
|