dpa-AFX International ProFeed, Germany
September 3, 2017 Sunday 6:31 AM GMT


Colombian army condemns rebel killing of hostage



BOGOTA (dpa-AFX) - The Colombian army on Saturday condemned the
killing of a Russian-Armenian man who had been kidnapped by the ELN
rebel group in November. Media reports said Saturday that the National
Liberation Army (ELN) had confirmed the man had been shot dead while
attempting to escape in April. At the time, the ELN had only said he
had been seriously injured after grabbing a weapon from one of his
captors and shooting at them, injuring several. 'The ELN has confirmed
that it is a gang of murderers and kidnappers,' army spokesman General
Mauricio Mosquera told RCN radio. 'We will never stop looking for the
[Russian-Armenian] citizen and are ready to support the family in
whatever they need.' The man had reportedly been conducting research
on frogs in the Colombian jungle when he was kidnapped on November 5.
The ELN is currently holding peace talks with the government, which
hopes a deal similar to that reached with FARC rebels last year can be
made.