At least 9 Colombians die in pre-election attack

Colombia, Apr 22 : At least six soldiers and 10 state security agents were killed in an ambush by leftist guerrillas in northeast Colombia as fighting increases ahead of May's presidential election.

One of three soldiers wounded in the attack said the rebels began the assault by opening fire as the soldiers and security agents drove through mountains near the Venezuelan border.

''We were on the road when we saw the guerrillas on the hillside above us. They had the ambush ready,'' the soldier said.

The rebels, who have been fighting the government for four decades, then blew up the vehicle, said the army and Colombia's security agency in a statement.

The ambush occurred near the town of Hacari in Norte de Santander province, the statement said. Initial media reports said the attack happened early yesterday but army officials later told reporters it happened on Thursday.

Violence has increased ahead of the May 28 vote, in which President Alvaro Uribe, popular for cutting crime as part of his US-backed crackdown on the rebels, is expected to win re-election.

Seven guerrillas were killed in clashes with the army in other parts of the country yesterday, adding to 22 rebels gunned down last week in the southern jungle province of Caqueta.

Security analysts say the 17,000-strong Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, is increasing attacks to discredit Uribe's security program and to scare people away from voting in order to rob him of electoral legitimacy.

Human Rights Watch accused the FARC of ''massacring'' dozens of civilians, including children, in an effort to intimidate voters ahead of March legislative elections.

The FARC, which funds itself through drug smuggling, says it is fighting for socialism in a country with deep divisions between rich and poor, but even mainstream leftist politicians say the group has scant popular support.

Reuters