2 killed in airstrike on FARC rebels

Two rebels were killed Saturday in an airstrike targeting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) some 180 kilometres south of the capital Bogota in Meta district, Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon told Caracol radio, according to dpa.

The strike came after Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday revived airstrikes on FARC after 11 fighters died in a clash.

Santos had called off airstrikes against FARC camps in March, but moved to relaunch them after 10 soldiers and at least one rebel were killed in a clash between the Army and FARC late Tuesday in southern Colombia.

FARC and the Colombian government have been holding peace talks in Havana since November 2012, although there is no bilateral truce in place. The rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire in late December, but there have been repeated clashes between the two sides.

FARC have been fighting the Colombian government for over half a century, in a conflict that has left 220,000 dead and displaced close to 5 million.