Guerrillas in S. America were supplied arms, training, he says

Associated Press

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – A Colombian rebel deserter contends that members of the Irish Republican
Army provided weapons and trained guerrillas in military tactics and the use of explosives, the
attorney general's office said Monday.

The deserter, identified for security reasons only as "Alexander," said the Irish insurgents brought
missiles and launchers aboard two small planes that landed in a rebel safe zone on Aug. 27, 1999.

Three people suspected of belonging to the IRA were arrested in Colombia last year.

The deserter's statements to officials from the attorney general's office were first reported Monday in
the newsmagazine Cambio. Carolina Sanchez, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, said the
deserter's statements were accurately reported, although she said officials did not know whether he
was truthful.

The magazine did not specify what kind of missiles and launchers were given to the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym FARC.

Colombian army Gen. Jorge Enrique Mora said that he believed the FARC had received terrorism
training from foreign groups and that the rebels used that knowledge recently to attack Colombia's
infrastructure.

The FARC has blown up dozens of electrical towers in recent weeks, causing electricity rationing in
some parts of the country. The group last weekend attacked a reservoir that provides water to
Bogotá, the capital.

The deserter said the three men who arrived at the FARC's safe zone with the weapons resembled
the three who were arrested in August.

The three men – Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley – said they visited the rebel
sanctuary to study Colombia's peace process. They are in a prison awaiting trial on charges of aiding
terrorism.