Colombia Farc attack 'kills four'

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Colombian authorities say an attack by Farc rebels on a police station in the south-west of the country has left three children and a woman dead.

A police chief said 12 people were injured when guerrillas opened fire and launched mortars on the building.

He said the rebels missed their targets and hit several nearby homes.

Two more rebels have meanwhile deserted Farc ranks with two hostages. The government says rebels who defect and help free hostages will not face jail.

Tuesday's attack in Roberto Payan in Narino province, on Colombia's Pacific coast, was carried out by rebels from the Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), a local police chief said.

Those killed were three children, aged eight, 11 and 12, and an elderly woman, Colombian media reported.

Colombia's long-running civil conflict has eased in recent years as President Alvaro Uribe has pursued a tough campaign against the rebels, driving them further into mountain and jungle areas.

The Farc has also been hit by a wave of desertions - 3,500 last year according to President Uribe.

Two guerrillas, identified by their aliases Ernesto and David, this week handed themselves in after escaping a rebel camp in the eastern province of Meta with two hostages, one of whom was a 14-year-old boy.

Farc rebels had kidnapped the two in two separate incidents last month with the aim of demanding a ransom.

'No justice'

President Uribe, speaking in Washington where he received the United States' highest civil award, the Medal of Freedom, renewed his call to Farc guerrillas to demobilise and help free the hundreds of hostages they are holding.

Mr Uribe said rebels who desert will not be pardoned or granted an amnesty, but will enjoy conditional freedom and a reward.

"If Mono Jojoy hands over hostages, abandons guerrilla ranks, he won't be pardoned or get an amnesty, but he can have freedom," said President Uribe in a reference to the rebels' main field commander.

The government's policy is controversial. Some human rights groups say letting rebels go free does not provide justice for their victims or their victims' families.