URIBE
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP):
COLOMBIA'S PRESIDENT has ordered his military to launch an air attack on rebels inside a mountainous national park where guerrillas attacked a coca eradication crew and killed six police guards.
The military's top commander, confirming the mission at a news conference yesterday, assured that civilians would be evacuated and every effort made to minimise damage to the environment.
"We're not talking about indiscriminate bombing," said General. Carlos Alberto Ospina, commander of Colombia's armed forces. "We're going after specific targets in areas where the guerrillas are known to operate."
No start date for the offen-sive was an-nounced.
The govern-ment began a risky operation last month to manually eradicate thousands of acres (hectares) of coca - the green bush used to make cocaine - from the Sierra Macarena National Park.
