Colombian Rebel Group Kidnaps 24 EnvironmentalistsAt least 24 members from a group of environmental investigators were kidnapped Thursday allegedly by the National Liberation Army ELN) rebels in northwest Colombia,sources said.The incidence took place in La Union mountains, more than 100 kilometers to the east of Medellin, where the group was conducting a flora and fauna study. CONARE spokesman Javier Valencia said the abduction appeared to be done by rebels of the "Carlos Alirio Buitrago" front of the National Liberation Army (ELN), which operates in the region where the study was centered. The university commission is made up of seven teachers, five biologists, an investigation assistant, ten students from a regional branch of National University of Colombia, a female official of CONARE corporation, and an environmental assessor. It belongs to a faculty of the Natural Sciences Institute that was conducting an investigation for Regional Autonomous Corporation of Rionegro (CONARE), a public entity dedicated to environmental care in the area. |
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