Guerrillas attack town, free inmates

Bogota - Marxist guerrillas bombarded a small town in south-western Colombia, broke into the local jail and freed 61 inmates, …

Bogota - Marxist guerrillas bombarded a small town in south-western Colombia, broke into the local jail and freed 61 inmates, the army and prison officials said yesterday.

FARC rebels began bombarding the town of Bolivar with rockets and homemade mortars on Saturday afternoon in an attack which lasted until nearly dawn the next day, said an army commander, Gen Horacio Ruiz.

Breaking into the town jail, they freed 73 prisoners, of whom 12 returned voluntarily, leaving 61 on the run.