Mayor killed in southern Colombia

BOGOTA, Aug 18 (AFP) - The mayor of the southern town of Suaza, in Colombia's Huila department, was knifed to death by unknown assailants in his home early Monday, police said.

Gentil Bahamon had been threatened by rebels with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest guerrilla group which is active in the area.

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Bahamon's wife let three men claiming to be security personnel enter their home, said Huila police commander Jairo Delgado. He had earlier sent his two regular bodyguards home.

One of the men then attacked Bahamon, who was still in bed, and stabbed him to death, Delgado said.

Starting in mid-2002 FARC rebels began killing town mayors who did not resign.

In that year 13 mayors and 63 council members were killed in towns around the country.

On August 3 gunmen shot to death the mayor of the central Colombian town of Aguadas as he left a party with friends.

The FARC's four decade-long war with the government has intensified over the past year since the breakdown of peace talks and the election of tough-talking President Alvaro Uribe.

axm/ch/mdl

Colombia