14 Colombian Journalists Flee War Zone

Posted on Mon, Mar. 31, 2003 Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia - Fourteen journalists have left one of Colombia's hottest war zones because of death threats from armed groups, the reporters said Monday.

Colombia is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists. At least 114 reporters have been killed in the past 14 years.

The journalists said they departed northeast Arauca state on the border with Venezuela after they learned their names were on death lists.

The rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as well as right-wing militias in Arauca had threatened them with death if they continued reporting on the conflict there, the reporters said.

Two weeks ago, the correspondent for the country's largest newspaper, El Tiempo, was killed by unknown gunmen.

In January, two international reporters traveling in the area were kidnapped by leftist rebels. They were released several days later.

The rebels and the right-wing militias are fighting for control of Arauca's vast oil-rich plains. The national government is trying to reassert authority in the region.