(dpa) The
Colombian military said Sunday it had killed 13 mercenaries in clashes with the
ultra-right-wing death commando "Los Rastrojos" in the country's
south-west region.
A military spokesman said that the recent clash took place in Argelia, in the province of Cauca.
The paramilitary unit was formed after the dissolution of the United Self
Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) starting in 2004, when the government of
President Alvero Uribe launched a reconciliation and amnesty programme with
AUC.
The new "Rastrojos" unit went to work for the drug cartel of Norte de
Valle after 2004 and is blamed for a number of contract killings.
Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine, which earns hundreds of
millions of dollars every year. Both AUC and the left wing Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), which still operates, have been inextricably linked
to the drug trade during decades of the South American country's civil
conflict.