Colombia says FARC rebels bomb oil pipeline
BOGOTA, March 5 (Reuters) - Leftist Colombian rebels bombed an oil pipeline in the southwest of the country, the government said on Wednesday, in a possible reprisal attack just days after the army killed a top guerrilla leader.
It will take about three days to repair the 100,000 barrel-per-day Trasandino pipeline in the jungle province of Putumayo, Deputy Energy Minister Manuel Maiguashca said.
The pipeline, operated by state petroleum company Ecopetrol ECO.CN, takes oil to the Pacific port of Tumaco.
Authorities said the bombing was carried out by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which is fighting a four-decade-old insurgency.
The FARC's No.2 commander, known as Raul Reyes, was killed in a weekend raid by Colombian forces that crossed into Ecuador to carry out the operation, sparking a diplomatic dispute with the neighboring country. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein, Editing by Sandra Maler)
It will take about three days to repair the 100,000 barrel-per-day Trasandino pipeline in the jungle province of Putumayo, Deputy Energy Minister Manuel Maiguashca said.
The pipeline, operated by state petroleum company Ecopetrol ECO.CN, takes oil to the Pacific port of Tumaco.
Authorities said the bombing was carried out by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which is fighting a four-decade-old insurgency.
The FARC's No.2 commander, known as Raul Reyes, was killed in a weekend raid by Colombian forces that crossed into Ecuador to carry out the operation, sparking a diplomatic dispute with the neighboring country. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein, Editing by Sandra Maler)
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