Colombia rebels kill nine coca growers

BOGOTA – Marxist rebels killed nine peasant coca growers in the mountains of northeastern Colombia on Wednesday, near the site of an earlier massacre in a war over cocaine crops, police and local authorities said.

Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia shot the peasants before dawn in rugged country outside the small town of Tibu in Norte de Santander province near the Venezuelan border, said officials with the police, local mayor and provincial governor. The rebel army, known by its Spanish initials FARC, killed 34 coca growers in the same area in June, after accusing them of working for rival far-right paramilitary outlaws, security forces said.- Nampa-ReutersThe rebel army, known by its Spanish initials FARC, killed 34 coca growers in the same area in June, after accusing them of working for rival far-right paramilitary outlaws, security forces said.- Nampa-Reuters