Colombia: July 9, 2001

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AUC fighters attacked a pro-leftist area 320 kilometers northwest of the capital, killing at least ten civilians and driving over 6,000 from their homes. The AUC, like the leftist rebels, use terror to control civilian populations. Unlike the leftist rebels, the government refuses to negotiate with the rightist AUC. The left wing rebels insist that the government undertake major army operations against the AUC. This is an unpopular move for most Colombians, as the AUC is having more success fighting the FARC than the army. But so far, FARC propaganda has managed to paint the AUC as blood thirsty terrorists, even though the methods of the AUC and FARC are little different.