Colombian President Deploys 50,000 Troop After Major Demonstrations Turn Violent

Colombia On Edge As Protests Sweep The Country -- Christian Science Monitor

Thousands of miners, truck drivers, health workers, and teachers have joined farmers in strikes that have blocked major arteries across Colombia.

Colombia's major cities erupted into violence yesterday as tens of thousands took to the streets in support of the nation's farmers, who have been on strike for eleven days.

Five people were reported killed, including a 15-year-old boy, in clashes with riot police that led President Juan Manuel Santos to announce the mobilization of 50,000 troops to restore calm to the country today.

Colombia's farmers – around 60 percent of the country's population, and the economy's backbone – say they can no longer make a living after years of neglect by the government in which crop prices have fallen, import prices have risen, and trade agreements have opened up the domestic market to large international companies they cannot compete with.

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More News On The Unrest In Colombia

Colombian president deploys 50,000 troops after violent protests -- CNN
Troops Patrol Colombian Capital After Protests -- Voice of America
Colombia troops to patrol Bogota after protests -- BBC
Colombian president orders military patrols in Bogota -- Reuters
Rioting in Bogota as Colombia’s president acknowledges ‘a storm’ is battering farm sector -- AP

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FARC Rebels Accepts Partial Blame For Colombia Bloodshed

Colombian Rebels Say They Share Blame For Decades Of Bloodshed -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Colombia's largest rebel organization for the first time on Tuesday accepted partial responsibility for decades of bloodshed and called for a commission to investigate the causes of the armed conflict that has killed more than 200,000.

The admission from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) came after a similar one by the Colombian government and appeared to mark some progress in peace negotiations that have dragged on for nine months in Havana while fighting continues in Colombia.

"The FARC are aware that up to now there have not been victors nor vanquished and the struggle continues," said a statement, read by rebel negotiator Pablo Catatumbo on the sidelines of the talks.

"Without a doubt there has also been cruelty and pain provoked by our forces."

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More News On Colombia's FARC Rebels Accepting Partial Blame For Bloodshed

FARC accepts partial blame for bloodshed -- Al Jazeera
In first, FARC accepts partial blame for Colombia bloodshed -- FOX News/AFP
Farc guerillas make historic admission of guilt in Colombia bloodshed -- The Telegraph
Colombia's FARC rebels call for commission to investigate victims of armed conflict -- AP

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