BOGOTA, DEC 30: One of the world's most dangerous countries became even deadlier this year, with violent crime and a decades-old civil war in Colombia claiming more than 70 lives a day, a new police study says.Killings increased five percent over last year, with 25,660 people dying in homicides in this South American nation of nearly 40 million people, according to a National Police report issued late Thursday.
Most of the deaths were a result of common crimes. However, war violence helped push up the annual figures.
Civilian massacres--the majority committed by rightist paramilitary groups against suspected guerrilla sympathisers--claimed 1,226 victims, a third more than in 1999.
Fighting and atrocities in Colombia's 36-year conflict surged despite peace talks aimed at ending the fighting. Security forces stretched thin by the guerrilla war were unable to control crime.
The bloodshed could intensify when US-trained Colombia counter narcotics troops begin major operations as soon as January in southern cocaine-producing regions rife with guerrillas and paramilitary groups.
The war has also spawned a booming kidnapping industry, which topped its own world records this year.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
