Havana - Colombia's FARC rebels confirmed on Tuesday they are holding a Colombian army General Ruben Dario Alzate and two others, whose capture on Sunday led the government to suspend two-year-old peace talks taking place in Havana.
“The three were captured by our units because it involves enemy military personnel, who were carrying out their duties in a war zone,” the statement said.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos suspended the Havana peace talks on Sunday after he said the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) abducted General Ruben Dario Alzate, another military officer and a civilian in the rural department of Choco.
The FARC on Tuesday also urged the government to return to peace talks and said the incident once again showed the need for a truce in order to improve the climate for the two-year-old negotiations.
The conflict between leftist rebels and Colombia's government is Latin America's longest-running war. It has killed some 200 000 people over 50 years.
The Colombian military dispatched troops by air, river and land to search for the three people in the poor and violence-stricken region.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, the FARC expressed surprise that Santos suspended the talks, a decision it called “impulsive,” and it repeated its oft-stated demand for a ceasefire.
Combat has continued during the talks, and while the FARC has said it would no longer kidnap civilians for ransom it considers military targets fair game as long as there is no truce.
“With each passing day, the (government) position of dialogue under fire becomes more foolish,” the FARC said.
Reuters