6 KIDS DIE IN CROSSFIRE BETWEEN TROOPS, REBELS

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA- A school group got caught in a crossfire between Marxist
rebels and army troops Tuesday, leaving six children dead and five injured,
a medical official said.

The children, aged 6 to 13, had been strolling in the countryside on a
school trip near the town of Pueblo Rico in Antioquia province when shooting
erupted between an army unit and guerrillas from the National Liberation
Army, or ELN.

An army officer accused the ELN, Colombia's second largest guerrilla force,
of using the children as human shields after two of their fighters were
killed in a battle earlier in the day. There was no independent
confirmation.

The casualties in Pueblo Rico capped a wave of violence between insurgents
and security forces Tuesday morning in which at least 10 rebels and an army
captain died, authorities said.

"The tragic toll is six children dead, including two brothers ages 6 and
10," said regional hospital spokesman Martin Mora.

In the last 10 years, Colombia's civil conflict, which began in the
mid-1960s, has killed more than 35,000 people. Most were civilians. Another
1 million have fled.