Eleven kidnapped Colombian politicians, held hostage for the past five years, have been killed in crossfire after the army raided the jungle camp where they were being held. A statement by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC said 11 of the 12 provincial deputies in captivity died in the shootout.

Fabiola Perdomo the wife of hostage Juan Pablo Narvaez said
“We blame FARC because they are the ones that took them hostage, but we also blame the government.”
The twelve were lifted in an audacious raid in broad daylight in the city of Cali in 2002.
On numerous occasions relatives pleaded with the government not to launch an attack on FARC, who hold a large number of high-profile individuals, for fear of injury to their loved ones.

It is unclear where exactly the battle occured and the Colombian Army say no rescue operation has taken place because the government did not know where the deputies were being held.

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