----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, October 20, 2000 8:34 PM Subject: [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] 54 Dead In Colombian Fighting STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK 54 Dead in Colombian Fighting By Jared Kotler Associated Press Writer Friday, October 20, 2000; 11:38 AM BOGOTA, Colombia -- Three days of fighting with guerrillas in northern Colombia have left at least 54 government troops and police dead, including 22 who were killed when a U.S.-made Black Hawk helicopter crashed, the army said Friday. There were no immediate reports of guerrilla casualties in what appeared to be one of the bloodiest episodes of fighting in the South American country in years. At least 30 soldiers died in ground fighting that began Wednesday when the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, attacked the town of Dabeiba in northwest Antioquia State, the army reported. The Black Hawk helicopter sent in to reinforce Dabeiba's embattled police garrison crashed Thursday, killing all four airmen and 18 troops aboard. The army says the sophisticated, armored attack helicopter was not shot down by guerrillas, but crashed because it banged its tail against the ground while dropping off troops in heavy wind. However, the wreckage has not yet been fully inspected. Black Hawk helicopters are a key weapon in Colombia's arsenal against the guerrillas and the most expensive component of a $1.3 billion U.S. aid package recently approved in Washington. The helicopters included in the package have yet to be delivered. The Black Hawk that crashed Thursday had been purchased from the U.S. government by Colombia's army air wing, said an army colonel who asked not to be identified. Two police officers were confirmed dead in the fighting. The whereabouts of at least 47 others were unknown Friday, and it was feared they were either killed by the FARC or taken prisoner. Thirty of the missing police were based in Dabeiba and another 17 in Bagado, a town 110 miles to the south that the FARC also attacked Wednesday. Bagado's mayor's office and police barracks were destroyed in the attack, according to accounts from police who flew over the town. Both towns are in a strategic arms and drug trafficking corridor that has been a major battleground in the conflict. The leftist FARC has been trying to move into the region after being pushed out in recent years by the military and right-wing paramilitary militias. The FARC routinely attacks rural police posts in overwhelming numbers, peppering them with homemade missiles and either killing the outgunned officers or taking them prisoner. The surge in fighting comes ahead of nationwide local elections Oct. 29. There has been speculation that the leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary groups might try to disrupt the balloting. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb
