30 REPORTED DEAD IN COLOMBIA ATTACK

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- As authorities tried to reach the mountain hamlets
where rightist paramilitary fighters reportedly massacred 30 people, rival
guerrillas on Sunday raided a separate village and killed at least one
resident, the army said.

Arriving in southwestern Cauca province, the region where the reported
paramilitary massacre took place, federal human rights ombudsman Eduardo
Cifuentes said he believed "about 30" villagers had been killed in attacks.

Reports of the killings by the rightist United Self-Defense Forces of
Colombia, or AUC, first surfaced Friday, but authorities were still trying
Sunday to reach the remote, mountainous villages.

Hundreds have fled the region on the backs of mules and horses seeking
refuge in the town of Timba, where they have told their stories to officials.

Servio Tulio Diaz, spokesman for the Cauca State governor's office, said
many of the victims were reportedly shot after the paramilitaries accused
them of being leftist rebel sympathizers.

"There is no doubt that there was a large massacre committed by the
paramilitaries," said Diaz. "What we don't know is how many people were
killed."

So far, authorities have confirmed that at least six villagers were
executed in the attacks.

Meanwhile Sunday, fighters from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
or FARC, attacked the Antioquia State village of Caucana early Sunday
morning following skirmishes with a right-wing paramilitary group, army
Col. Jairo Ovalle told the Associated Press. He said the rebels accused the
residents of supporting the paramilitaries.

Ovalle said earlier reports from the local mayor that as many as 50 people
had been killed in the assault were unfounded. Although the death toll was
unknown because of ongoing battles between soldiers and guerrillas, only
one villager was confirmed dead.

The violence in the region in Antioquia state, 223 miles from the capital,
Bogota, began early Sunday when the rebels clashed with paramilitary gunmen.

Following the skirmishes, the rebels attacked the village of 5,000 people
and torched homes. Soldiers arrived by helicopter several hours later and
had regained control by late afternoon, Ovalle said.

Paramilitaries and the nation's two main guerrilla groups, the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the National
Liberation Army, or ELN, are all active in the violent province.

The upsurge in violence comes as peace efforts between President Andres
Pastrana's government and both guerrilla groups appear to be foundering.
However, the ELN announced on Saturday that it will stop erecting
roadblocks along three main highways as a peace gesture.