30 killed in Colombia violence

The authorities in Colombia say thirty people have been killed in separate acts of violence.

The army said a soldier and ten rebels of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, were killed during a gunfight in central Colombia.

Two policemen were killed in an ambush by the ELN further north, while seventeen civilians were shot dead in four separate attacks by suspected right-wing paramilitaries.

The deaths came amid reports that the largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, is preparing to free up to a-hundred-and-fifty members of the security forces.

Correspondents say the releases would help revive peace talks suspended last November.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service