-Caveat Lector- Churchgoers Kidnapped in Colombia BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Gunmen kidnapped a group of churchgoers Sunday during a Mass in an exclusive neighborhood of the western city of Cali and hauled them away in trucks, the mayor said. At least 70 people were in the church in the residential district of Ciudad Jardin when the armed group entered about 11 a.m. during the Roman Catholic service, Mayor Ricardo Cobo told Caracol radio. ``It's very serious, the audacity of these groups,'' he said. ``They've taken the people away in trucks.'' Cobo said it was not yet known how many people were abducted but that the victims included the parish priest. People who managed to escape claimed the organizers of the kidnapping were members of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, Colombia's second-largest rebel band, he said. The mayor said the trucks headed for a nearby mountainous area and that soldiers and police commandos were in pursuit. The kidnapping comes six weeks after ELN rebels hijacked a domestic Avianca flight, forcing it to land on a remote airstrip and herding away the passengers and crew, in a move that highlighted the mounting insecurity of this country in the throes of a 35-year-old civil conflict. The ELN has released all but 25 of the 41 people abducted in the April 12 incident. Though Colombia has the world's highest kidnapping rate, the incident shocked Colombians who thought air travel was exempt from that plague. Sunday's mass abduction further exacerbated the fears of Colombia's elite. The affected neighborhood is home to some of Cali's richest residents. Guerrillas of the ELN and the Revolutionary Armed Forces, or FARC, have a strong presence in the countryside surrounding Cali, the country's third-largest city. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
