Fierce battles between the Colombian military and Marxist guerillas left 14 people dead in the latest fighting, DPA reported. There were few details about the fighting in La Macarena National Park in the southern Colombian jungle, where five soldiers and five rebels were slain, the military said. The military statement said that its task force Omega would continue to press the offensive against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which has been fighting an insurgency for 45 years. The statement labeled FARC a "terrorist organization." Meanwhile, FARC fighters attacked a courthouse in Garzon, a city in the southern province of Huila. About 10 rebels disguised as government soldiers stormed the building, shooting to death two court guards and a police officer. A local government official was abducted. A bomb detonated in a vehicle left behind by the attackers killed one soldier and wounded two others.
