BOGOTA, Colombia -- Eleven soldiers were killed and 19 injured in an attack by leftist guerrillas in Colombia, a violation of the rebels' pledge of a unilateral cease-fire.
The attack occurred around midnight Tuesday in the volatile southwest district of Cauca when an army unit on a routine patrol was surprised by guerrillas with homemade explosives and grenades. A corporal and 10 others were killed during the ambush by a unit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the army's 3rd Division said in a statement.
President Juan Manuel Santos condemned the attack, which he said was premeditated and not the result of any army incursion. He also lifted a month-old suspension of aerial bombings of rebel camps that had been trumpeted as a major milepost in the effort to end a half-century of fighting.
"Let it be very clear to the FARC: I'm not going let myself be pressured by vile acts like this," said Santos, flanked by his top military commanders, reading a statement Wednesday en route to the combat zone in a rural outpost called La Esperanza, or Hope.
Colombians took to social media to denounce the attack and call on Santos to abandon the peace talks.
"Santos, don't betray us anymore," former President Alvaro Uribe, a fierce critic of the peace process, said on Twitter. "Don't justify the murder of our soldiers with this talk of war you want to end."
FARC negotiators in Cuba committed in December to a unilateral cease-fire to promote peace talks that have taken place on the communist-led island over the past two years, saying they would only fire weapons if attacked by the armed forces.
While adherence to the leadership's command has been less than complete, the latest attack is the most serious breach to date. It threatens momentum toward a deal that has been building since the FARC in November released an army general that it had accidentally captured.
Last month, both sides agreed on a plan to begin jointly removing land mines that litter large parts of the countryside. Soon afterward, the government suspended all aerial bombings of guerrilla camps, an order Santos extended this month.
A Section on 04/16/2015