Colombian leftist rebels acknowledge capture of army general -...

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Colombia's FARC rebels confirmed on Tuesday (November 18) they are holding a Colombian army General Ruben Dario Alzate and two others, whose capture on Sunday led the government to suspend two-year-old peace talks taking place in Havana.

"The three were captured by our units because it involves enemy military personnel, who were carrying out their duties in a war zone," the internet statement said.

FARC negotiators in Havana also briefed media on Tuesday about the kidnapping.

"On the day of November 16 at 1500 hours rebels belonging to the Ivan Rio block while carrying out their security operations intercepted one of the boats that patrol the river that boat that carried Army General Ruben Dario Alzate Mora who is in active service," said FARC negotiator Rubin Morro.

FARC negotiator Pablo Catatumbo called for a bilateral ceasefire, saying the lack of one led to the kidnapping of Alzate.

"No, we are not setting conditions we are simply insisting in something that we have been saying for months which is the insensitivity that leads to these types of situations, which is the government's insistence to continue the peace talks in the middle of war. We believe it is necessary and that this incident forces all of us to reflect upon the necessity of declaring a bilateral ceasefire now," Catatumbo told reporters in Havana.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos suspended the Havana peace talks on Sunday after he said the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) abducted General Ruben Dario Alzate, another military officer and a civilian in the rural department of Choco.

The FARC on Tuesday also urged the government to return to peace talks and said the incident once again showed the need for a truce in order to improve the climate for the two-year-old negotiations.

The conflict between leftist rebels and Colombia's government is Latin America's longest-running war. It has killed some 200,000 people over 50 years.

The Colombian military dispatched troops by air, river and land to search for the three people in the poor and violence-stricken region.

Combat has continued during the talks, and while the FARC has said it would no longer kidnap civilians for ransom it considers military targets fair game as long as there is no truce.

REUTERS