Rebels attack Colombian pipeline

The Colombian national oil company, Ecopetrol, says suspected rebels have blown up the country's main pipeline in the south-east of the country, forcing the suspension of pumping operations.

It's the sixty-fifth time the pipeline has been attacked this year -- the worst year since its inauguration in 1986.

Ecopetrol says the left-wing rebel group, the National Liberation Army, is behind the attack.

They say it often targets the oil industry, claiming foreign companies plunder Colombia's natural resources.

Ecopetrol, which has foreign partners, uses the pipeline to transfer around a quarter-of-a-million barrels of oil every day to the port of Covenas.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service