San Vicente del Caguan, Colombia – Military jets flew hundreds of
sorties against a major rebel stronghold Thursday, bringing Colombia’s
38-year civil war into a potentially bloodier phase after the peace
process was abruptly halted.
Bombs were falling on rebel territory just hours after President Andres
Pastrana, angered by a rebel hijacking of a civilian airliner, broke off
peace talks and condemned the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC. The government ordered 13,000 troops to advance on
the rebel stronghold, and three planeloads of counterinsurgency troops
landed at an airport in Florencia, a three-hour drive to the west.
Army officials said 85 targets were hit in the first wave of attacks on
the rebel safe haven, a Switzerland-sized area that was the site of the
peace negotiations. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Targets included clandestine airstrips and rebel training camps in the
zone, which Pastrana ceded the area to the FARC in November 1998 in an
effort to bring the 16,000-strong rebel army to the negotiating table.
The rebel haven in southern Colombia is sparsely populated, with about
100,000 people.
A top army commander predicted a bloody fight, but there were no signs
that military troops had yet entered the zone. “It’s dicey, and we will
surely suffer casualties, but we have a moral obligation to win this
war,” Gen. Euclides Sanchez told Caracol Radio.
Residents in the rebel area’s largest town, San Vicente del Caguan,
posted white flags at their homes in hopes of bringing protection. “The
white flags symbolize peace. We don’t want anything to happen,” said
homemaker Amelia de Ficaro, 68.
Citizens stripped six vehicles abandoned by the rebels along a road
outside town. Also left behind was a sign that referred to U.S.
anti-drug aid to Colombia. “The gringos give the arms. Colombia provides
the dead,” it said. Some 3,500 people are killed annually in the
38-year war.
A rebel in camouflage uniform and brandishing an AK-47 rifle manned a
checkpoint outside San Vicente del Caguan. “We’ll keep patrolling
because this is Colombia and we’re all over Colombia,” he said. He waved
through some journalists, wishing them “feliz viaje” – happy trip.
The FARC did not comment on the offensive. Phone lines to rebel
headquarters were cut shortly after Pastrana condemned a rebel hijacking
of a civilian airliner on Wednesday. Guerrillas kidnapped a senator and
released 29 crew and passengers. The hijacking and weeks of rebel
bombings belied FARC pledges to seek a cease-fire by April.
Many Colombians rallied around Pastrana, whose peace policy had been
highly unpopular.
“Colombia was generous with the guerrillas, but now there is no way to
continue this process,” said Sabas Pretelt de la Vega, a top business
leader.
“We should have done this a long time ago,” said Army Cpl. Carlos
Vanegas, standing guard on a highway leading to the rebel zone.
“Everybody is tired,” said Samuel Dominguez, a cheese vendor in Bogota,
the capital. “Now we have to accept that we are at war and confront it.
Hopefully, we will win.”
The United States reiterated its support for Pastrana’s government.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan offered his “good offices” to find a
political solution and called on all forces to spare civilians. Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch urged the government to prevent
right-wing paramilitaries from entering the zone and killing civilians
suspected of collaborating with the rebels.
U.N. peace envoy James LeMoyne, who got the two sides to agree to
cease-fire talks last month, expressed concern for the safety of
residents in the zone. He, too, feared paramilitaries could take
advantage of the offensive to hunt down citizens.
The escalation comes as Washington is considering expanding training and
equipment deliveries to the Colombian military. At any given time, there
are about 250 U.S. military personnel, 50 civilian employees and 100
civilian military contractors in Colombia.
Sanchez said none were participating in Thursday’s offensive.
The U.S. government has limited its military aid to counter narcotics
operations but has also labeled the FARC a terrorist organization –
leaving open the possibility it could provide aid to fight the group.
The George W. Bush administration has asked Congress to authorize $98
million to train and arm a Colombian army brigade to protect an oil
pipeline.
Colombia’s war pits the FARC and a smaller rebel group, the National
Liberation Army, against government troops and an outlawed aramilitary
militia.
Pastrana, who had staked his presidency on bringing an end to Colombia’s
war, insisted that the three-year effort toward making peace with the
FARC had not been wasted. He said the military was stronger than it had
ever been. And he said the process was proof that the FARC could not
negotiate in good faith.
