FARC grenade blast kills two in NE Colombia

Two people were killed and nine others injured late Sunday in a grenade explosion set off by alleged members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ( FARC) in northeastern Arauca state, local military sources said Monday. The leftist insurgents targeted a military patrol vehicle in the rural area of Tame, said Major Col. Jhon Norbey Zambrano of the Army's 18th Brigade. "FARC rebels detonated a long-range explosive device within 50 meters of the bridge located at the main entrance to the village," said Norbey. The official added the rebels were guilty of murder and " attempted murder ...illegal possession of weapons of war, acts of terrorism, barbaric acts and violation of the II Protocol of the Geneva Convention." The two victims were identified as Jose Guzman and his three- year-old son. Some of the injured were airlifted by military helicopter to Arauca city, near Colombia's border with Venezuela, for treatment. On Tuesday, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and leaders of the FARC will begin peace talks in Oslo, Norway, to end some 50 years of fighting. Neither side has offered to stop fighting as part of a temporary truce.