By Xinhua,
Bogota : Nearly 3,000 FARC rebels are among the 3,352 Colombian paramilitary fighters who surrendered this year following heavy crackdowns by the national army, according to a Defense Ministry report released Wednesday.
Of the surrendering rebels, 2,940 were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country’s biggest rebel group, 383 were from the second largest guerilla group, the National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN), and the remaining 29 from other anti-government insurgent groups.
The rebels, who are tired of the endless fighting, will be swiftly repatriated and resettled under a government plan, the report said.
The number of surrendering rebels had increased by 7 percent compared with the same period last year, it added.
They include some rebel leaders, such as one of FARC’s leading commanders, Nelly Avila Moreno, better known as “Karina.”
The Colombian government has kept up fierce attacks against the rebel groups since President Alvaro Uribe assumed office in August 2002. Some 17,800 rebels have surrendered to the government since then, including about 3,000 women and over 2,500 minors.