US resumes aid to Colombian army

The United States is reported to have loosened restrictions on aid to Colombia's armed forces, which had been withheld because of the military's human rights record.

The Washington Post daily says some thirty-seven million dollars are to be used by the Colombian military for counter-insurgency activities, as part of a larger programme to combat drugs trafficking.

The newspaper adds that the aid can only be used in a specific area in the south of the country.

Correspondents say the aid is controversial within the US administration because the Colombian army and right-wing paramilitary groups have been implicated in massacres of civilians, disappearances and cases of torture.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service