At least 13 Colombian policemen died when rebels ambushed a police convoy and fought government forces along the border with Ecuador yesterday.
The convoy was travelling on a remote jungle road in Choco state, a strategic corridor for arms and drug trafficking through Panama, when it was ambushed, said Choco Deputy Governor Freddy Lloreda.
At least 10 police were killed and three wounded in the ambush near Tado, some 220 miles northwest of Bogota, he said. Only three police survived.
He blamed the attack on guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, which has been battling to topple the government for 40 years. The group funds itself through drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.
Elsewhere, Farc rebels killed three police officers in fighting along the border with Ecuador.
A police unit, responding to explosions they heard along an oil pipeline near the border town of San Miguel, encountered Farc rebels and two hours of fighting followed, the army said.
Since the start of the year, the Farc has carried out some of its boldest attacks on the military in two years, killing nearly 100 soldiers and undermining government claims the rebels are being defeated.
AP