-Caveat Lector- Man killed in Red Cross ambulance as Colombian fighting continues By SCOTT DALTON The Associated Press 10/3/00 6:57 PM PUERTO ASIS, Colombia (AP) -- Guerrillas killed a wounded rival inside a Red Cross ambulance, the aid group said Tuesday -- the latest death in a no-holds-barred battle between leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries for control of a cocaine-producing Colombian region. Days of fighting have paralyzed the region in Putamayo state, an area near Colombia's border with Ecuador. Government forces have a scant presence here, but U.S.-trained Colombian troops backed by U.S.-supplied combat helicopters are expected to enter in force within months. The combatants in the region are the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary group, or AUC. The fighting erupted Sept. 21. It has sent frightened civilians fleeing toward Ecuador, caused food and fuel supplies to dwindle and cut off the state by road from the rest of Colombia. With wounded fighters now being executed while in Red Cross care, the South American country's 36-year civil conflict appears to be entering an even more vicious and uncontrolled phase. The killing of the AUC member inside the ambulance came Monday, 10 days after paramilitaries executed a wounded female rebel who was also being transported by the Red Cross. According to the Red Cross staff in Bogota, the wounded AUC fighter was being evacuated from the Putumayo town of La Hormiga when FARC rebels stopped the Red Cross ambulance, opened its door and shot him. "They told our official that it wasn't an action against the Red Cross, but rather against the AUC," said a Red Cross official who asked not to be named. In a statement from Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced it had suspended all medical evacuations in Colombia until "reliable guarantees are obtained from all parties to the conflict." As fighting continued, government troops were patrolling Puerto Asis, a town in the heart of the coca-growing region. But most of the fighting was occurring in rural areas, military sources said. Also Tuesday, police reported that paramilitary fighters killed nine unarmed people, including five members of one family, in Vijes, a town in western Cauca State. The killings Monday appeared to be the work of the AUC, National Police operations chief Gen. Alfonso Arellano told The Associated Press. Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions 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, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== 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
