Rebels kill 14 soldiers in Colombia

Colombian guerrillas killed 14 soldiers in an ambush not far from the capital the third weekend of December, pushing up an already high death toll in December as expectations build for increased military clashes in 2007. The attack occurred on Dec. 23 near the town of La Julia in Meta province, a prime coca-growing region about 100 miles southeast of Bogota. Shooting broke out as Colombian Army units were moving toward the town, which had been previously wrested from guerrilla control, and which they had heard rebels would try to retake. The attack was the latest setback suffered by the armed forces, which are partially trained and equipped by the United States under Plan Colombia, an aid package worth $700 million a year designed to help Colombia fight drug traffickers and guerrillas. About 550 soldiers and national police have been killed in action this year. Many US and Colombian military analysts expect the government of President Alvaro Uribe to step up military operations against the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by their Spanish initials FARC.