RIGHT-WING GROUPS KILL 11 IN COLOMBIA'S TURBULENT NORTH

BOGOTA - Right-wing paramilitary groups killed 11 men suspected
of being leftist sympathizers, authorities said Sunday, the latest
bloodshed in Colombia's north, where dozens have been massacred in
recent weeks.

About 50 gunmen arrived Friday night at a series of farms outside San
Juan Nepomuceno and Maria La Baja in Bolivar state and shot to death
the men, all aged 25 to 35, said Marine Col. Rodrigo Quinonez.

Quinonez's units arrived on the scene Saturday and found the local
population terrorized, with 200 peasants already having fled to Maria
La Baja.

He said a paramilitary officer in a camouflage uniform called the
victims by name, accusing them of being members of the leftist rebel
National Liberation Army, or ELN.

Bolivar state and the Marines were offering a $10,000 US reward for
information leading to the capture of the attackers, Quinonez said.

The region is one of Colombia's most turbulent. Paramilitary units vie
for control of its mineral riches - including the country's most
extensive gold deposits - as well as local cocaine business.

Since mid-February, more than 60 people have been killed by
paramilitary units, for reportedly being sympathetic with the ELN.

In one of the cruelest actions, some 200 paramilitaries massacred at
least 36 people with guns and machetes on Feb. 16 in the village of El
Salado and another 17 in nearby Ovejas, according to federal
prosecutors. The most recent killings occurred just 48 kilometres away.