April 4, 2006: The army has gone on the offensive over the last few days, killing at least two dozen rebels from FARC and ELN, and raiding rebel camps in the back country. The offensive is apparently meant to interrupt rebel plans to disrupt the May 28th elections. The rebels are suffering from increasing battlefield losses, falling revenue and and sharply declining acceptance by the population.

April 1, 2006: The increased use of landmines by FARC and ELN has made Colombia the country with the largest number of mine victims (about 1070 last year) in the world. Thus Colombia has displaced Angola and Afghanistan, both of which used to hold the top position. Some estimates believe there are about 100,000 mines planted throughout the country.