Four FARC rebels killed in clashes with Colombian soldiers

Four rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been killed by government soldiers in recent clashes in Colombia’s southern Putumayo province.

The government issued a statement on Monday saying the four were killed in a rural area near Puerto Leguizamo during a military operation, AFP reported.

Five people — three minors, an Ecuadoran and an Indian — were also taken prisoner, according to the statement.

The casualties occurred as the government and the rebels are engaged in peace talks in Havana to try to end their almost five-decade-old conflict.

FARC is Latin America’s oldest insurgent group and has been fighting the government since 1964.

Bogota estimates that 600,000 people have been killed, and some three million others have been internally displaced by the fighting.

The rebel organization is thought to have around 8,000 fighters operating across a large swathe of the eastern jungles of the Andean nation.