Colombian leader condemns massacre

BOJAYA, Colombia -- Colombian President Andres Pastrana walked Thursday in a church where 117 civilians died in a rebel bombardment, a building stained by blood and littered with human remains and torn baby clothes. The world, he said, must condemn the killings.

Water from a rainstorm was pooled inside the concrete-walled church, whose roof had collapsed when a rebel mortar round crashed through it on May 2. Among the victims who had sought shelter in the church during the firefight between rebels and paramilitaries were 40 children.

With the smell of death lingering in the air, Pastrana stopped briefly to look at a wooden figure of Christ leaning against a wall of the church, its arms and legs blown off. The floor of the church was strewn with baby clothes and pieces of bone. "We are here because a massacre was committed that should be condemned by the entire world. We are here to share their pain," said Pastrana, who three months ago ended peace talks with the rebels, calling them terrorists.

Abandoned area

The humid, jungle-cloaked region near the Panamanian border had been abandoned by the state two years ago amid rebel attacks and counterattacks by the outlawed paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, which has maintained covert links with members of the U.S.-backed military.

Some of the residents, most of whom are the descendants of African slaves, resented the absence of state authority.

"Mr. President, why does only violence and barbarity cause you to remember our town," said a sign carried by one survivor of the attack.

In the provincial capital, Quibdo, which Pastrana also visited as he hopscotched across Choco province by helicopter, resentment also simmered.

"How many more deaths will you need until you pay attention to us," shouted a woman in Quibdo as Pastrana walked past. He promised military gunboats would start patrolling the wide and muddy Atrato River, which runs past Bojaya, also known as Bellavista.

After taking a navy speedboat across the river to the neighboring town of Vigia del Fuerte, Pastrana said the government will rebuild police stations in both villages.

The United Nations' chief representative in Colombia, Anders Kompas, is also expected to visit Bojaya. Pastrana called the U.N. to investigate the killings.

On Tuesday, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said the attack on the church was accidental and apologized.